The Los Angeles Lakers will be looking to make it three wins from three on home court when they take on the Charlotte Hornets at the Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night.
Both sides head into the weekend off the back of contrasting results, with the Hornets snapping a run of 10 back-to-back games without a win courtesy of a hard-fought victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Match preview
The Los Angeles Lakers were denied their first road win of the year as they fell to a 118-97 blowout defeat against a short-handed Dallas Mavericks side at the American Airlines Center on Tuesday night.
It was back and forth in the first half, with the two sides exchanging leads before the Lakers let go of the rope after the break as with LeBron James finished with 18 points on 50% shooting while Antony Davis dropped a 21-point 12-assist double-double.
In the absence of key names like Kyrie Irving and floor general Luka Doncic, Quentin Grime led the Mavs to a fourth win in five games against the visitors with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists to record his first 20-5-5 game for the franchise and inspire them to their sixth-largest victory in history.
This was a second consecutive road defeat for the Los Angeles Lakers after they fell 119-115 against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center on January 6 while they have now lost three of their five games in a topsy-turvy start to the new year.
JJ Redick's men now end their two-game road swing as they return to the Crypto.com Arena, where they brushed aside the Portland Trail Blazers and Atlanta Hawks in their most recent two outings and have won five of their seven games since the start of December.
The Los Angeles Lakers are now 20-16 from their 36 games this season and sit sixth in the Western Conference standings, level with rivals and next-door neighbours Los Angeles Lakers, who sit in seventh-place with an identical record.
On the other hand, the Charlotte Hornets finally stopped the rot on Tuesday night when they rolled past the Phoenix Suns 115-104 when the two sides squared off at the Spectrum Center.
A slow start saw the Hornets go 6-of-27 from the field in the first quarter as they looked on course for yet another disappointing defeat but offensive leader LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges inspired a second-quarter comeback as Charlotte held firm to see out the win.
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant combined for 65 points for the Suns but Bridges dropped 21 points on 47% shooting while Ball tallied 32 points and 10 rebounds to record his seventh double-double of the campaign as the Hornets snapped their seven-game losing streak against Phoenix.
Prior to that, Charles Lee's men were on a run of 10 back-to-back defeats, failing to cross the 100-point mark in four of those games, and had managed just one win in their previous 19 outings since November 24.
Hornets, who currently sit 13th in the Eastern Conference standings with a 8-27 record, now go up against an opposing side whom they have suffered defeat against in each of their last four clashes, stretching back to a 134-130 win in December 2022.
Team News
Cam Reddish missed the game against the Dallas Mavericks last time out through a back injury and the 25-year-old will be considered day-to-day heading into weekend's matchup.
Christian Wood and 21-year-old guard Jalen Hood-Schifino are both recuperating from knee and hamstring injuries respectively and are also out of contention for Redick's men.
While Jarred Vanderbilt edges closer to his return from the sidelines after over a year away due to injury, the 25-year-old forward is expected to play no part in this weekend's clash.
As for the Charlotte Hornets, experienced forward Grant Williams has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a severe knee injury back in November.
Tre Mann has missed each of the last 20 games since picking up a back injury against the Detroit Pistons in November and the 23-year-old is expected to make his return on January 15.
Los Angeles Lakers possible starting 5:
Christie, Reaves, Davis, Hachimura, LeBron
Charlotte Hornets possible starting 5:
Ball, Bridges, Miller, Williams, Green
We say: Los Angeles Lakers to win by 7+ points.
While the Charlotte Hornets will be looking to continue from where they left off against the Suns and put together a run of form, next up is the challenge of a superior Los Angeles Lakers side who have won their last four encounters.
Redick's men have been rock solid-solid on home court and we predict that they will see off the Hornets to record a third consecutive victory at the Crypto.com Arena. body check tags ::
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