The Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Lakers will look to get back on track without the help of Kobe Bryant who is suffering from inflammation in his left leg when they take on bottom division dwellers New Orleans in the Big Easy on Monday night.
In this shortened NBA season there haven’t been many chances to get an extended break, but the Rockets have had three straight days off coming into this one.
The Clippers are one of the hottest teams in the league winners of 6 straight, but they still trail the Lakers by 1.5 games for the 3rd spot in the Western Conference.
The Pacific Division-leading Lakers will aim for their eighth consecutive victory when they host the surging New Jersey Nets who look to extend their longest winning streak in more than a year to four on Tuesday night.
TNT starts off with a rematch of the NBA Finals from last year on Thursday night, and they’ll finish the night with a matchup of two of the top teams in the Western Conference this year.
The Lakers hit the road after losing at home to Memphis Sunday night. Los Angeles has been a much weaker team on the road this season and is looking to rebound quickly before the OKC Thunder come visiting to Staples.
These are two teams that seem to be headed in different directions right now.
The Dallas Mavericks who have won four in a row, will be well-rested and waiting for the Los Angeles Lakers to roll into the Big D on Wednesday.
In a match up that will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a game the struggling 76ers (21-15) host the Golden State Warriors (14-18).
The Lakers had been lacking a signature win in the first half of the year until last night.
Both the Lakers (19-13) and the Mavs (21-12) did not start the season well, but each has gotten back on track. The Lakers beat the Mavs earlier this season in La La Land, but this season they have struggled on the road going 5-11.
Some of the characters have changed but there is still little extra juice in the building when the Suns and Lakers face off.
The Lakers have struggled through the first part of this season, but last night’s win in Boston was their single best victory of the year.
The best rivalry in the NBA will headline TNT’s Thursday night NBA action this week. Both of these teams have had their struggles this year, but both are still considered contenders for the title.
It is the matchup that many expected in the NBA Finals last year, but it never materialized.
Unlike the last few seasons not many are talking about the Lakers (6-4) as being legit title contenders and, yes, they were swept by Dallas in the playoffs last season and 6th Man if the Year Lamar Odom is now in the Big D, but Kobe and Pau are playing well and Andrew Bynum has been putting up sick numbers since coming off his suspension.
