Archive for the 'Preview' Category

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Down 2-0 Yet Full of Laughs

Published by Mike Trudell on May 5, 2011 7:57 pm in Preview.

After falling for a second consecutive time at home, some may have been surprised to see the Lakers laughing, joking and exuding confidence after Thursday’s practice, particularly due to the team’s subpar play in Game 2.

“Everything will be all right,” said Lamar Odom.

“It’s a game and we know it’s a game and we play it and we play it hard and we anticipate winning in Dallas,” said Phil Jackson.

“It’s not that big of a deal to win two games in a row,” said Kobe Bryant. “Stop acting like you’ve never won two games in a row.”

Of course, there are the stats that show teams losing their first two games at home have come back to win only three of 18 series. Yet the Lakers are 1-1 in such circumstances, coming back to beat San Francisco in 1969, while being swept by eventual champion Portland (featuring Luke Walton’s father Bill) in 1977.

It would appear that this current group of Lakers — even if they didn’t play like it in Game 2 or down the stretch of Game 1 — would cite the 1969 situation before that of 1977, however inapplicable they are heading into Game 3 in Dallas.

All in all, the Lakers know their words don’t really mean anything, and vowed to show what they’re made of in the court. They’ll have their chance in less than 24 hours.

Phil & Kobe’s Lakers Great in Close Out Games

Published by Mike Trudell on April 28, 2011 11:39 am in Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson and Preview.

While past performance is no guarantee of future results, the Lakers head into Thursday evening’s Game 6 in New Orleans with a 3-2 lead and a chance to do something they’ve accomplished with remarkable success: close out a playoff opponent on the first try.

The Lakers have closed out 10 of their last 11 opponents on their first try, including winning all four elimination games last season. Three of the four 2010 playoff close outs occurred on the road, with L.A. winning at Oklahoma City in Game 6 (95-94) when up 3-2, at Utah (111-96) when up 3-0 and at Phoenix (111-103) when up 3-2. Then in the NBA Finals, L.A. beat Boston 83-79 in Game 7 when tied at three in the series.

They were nearly as good in the 2009 title run, closing out the Jazz, Nuggets and Magic on their first opportunity, while losing only to the Rockets in a potential close out Game 6, just the third time since 2001 they’d failed to do so, and the only time since Pau Gasol came over in 2008.

Since 2001, L.A. has closed out opponents on the first try 21 times in 24 opportunities, with a 2006 loss at Phoenix and 2004 defeat at Minnesota serving as the other two L’s. And with Phil Jackson on the sideline, the Lakers have won 21-of-28 close out opportunities, and 32 of their last 33 series when having an opportunity to close at any point. The only time L.A. held a series lead and lost came against Phoenix in 2006, when 3-1 turned into 4-3. The last blown lead had come in 1993 (Phoenix).

Considering how difficult it is to win even one playoff series in the NBA, what Jackson and the Lakers have done is mind-boggling even to a coach with four championship rings of his own in San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich.

“The incredible nature of what (Jackson’s) done I don’t think has really sunken in on people,” he said before L.A.’s April 12 win over the Spurs. “To win three in a row as many times as he’s done … as I said the last time I was here, I’ve tried 90 times and can’t win a second time in a row. So for him to do that with two different teams is just beyond my comprehension, and that’s not blowing smoke.

“I don’t know Phil, we don’t go out and have beers, I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve gotten to know him or anything. So I just see him from afar and see what he’s done, and it’s absolutely incredible to me. That kind of winning, that kind of pressure, that kind of persistence year after year after year to get those wins is remarkable. Whatever plaudits he receives once he does retire, whether it’s this year or next year or five years, they’re certainly deserved.”

The top-seeded Spurs, facing a 3-1 deficit to the eighth-seeded Grizzlies, managed to survive in incredible fashion in an overtime victor on Wednesday to force Game 6, thanks in part to some great late-game execution of Popovich out-of-bounds plays.

And while San Antonio will continue their attempt at coming back, Jackson and the Lakers will try and close an opponent out at the first opportunity, something that’s become quite familiar in recent years.

Hornets Historic in Game 1

Published by Mike Trudell on April 20, 2011 11:59 am in Preview.

Losing 109-100 in Game 1 of L.A.’s quest for a third consecutive title was not what the Lakers had in mind, but after a few hours of breaking down film, there was a simple explanation.

“Give the Hornets all the credit in the world,” said assistant coach Jim Cleamons in our LakersTV preview. “They wanted the game, they played harder and they should have won.”

With L.A. not fully invested for whatever reason, so good were the Hornets that you had to look at the entire history of the NBA postseason to match certain outputs:

- With just three turnovers in the game, the Hornets matched an all-time NBA Playoff record established first by Detroit against Orlando on May 13, 2008.
- With his 33-point, 14-assist, 7-rebound performance, point guard Chris Paul became the fourth player in 3,272 previous playoff games to reach such numbers, matching Oscar Robertson (twice), Walt Frazier and Magic Johnson, and becoming the first to do so on the road.
- New Orleans got a ridiculously efficient output from its bench, which went 16-for-22 from the field (72.7 percent), just the third time in league in the last 20 playoff seasons a team’s reserves have combined for that high of a field goal percentage with a minimum of 15 attempts (Milwaukee, 75% on 4/29/06 vs. DET and Phoenix, 74% on 5/6/06 vs. LAL).

New Orleans Hornets: 10 Questions

Published by Mike Trudell on April 15, 2011 2:33 pm in Playoffs and Preview.

Complete Lakers – Hornets First Round Series preview.

If you’re looking to go a bit deeper into the New Orleans Hornets, we’re here for you.

Two days away from the start of LAL’s quest for a three-peat, we enlisted Hornets.com writer Jim Eichenhofer to answer 10 questions about the Hornets ranging from Chris Paul’s health, David West’s absence, how the Hornets plan on dealing with L.A.’s size, the mindset of coach Monty Williams and more:

1) Chris Paul appears to be moving better now than he was earlier in the season, but how is his knee and what can we expect from Paul in the playoffs?
Eichenhofer: Chris has said periodically throughout the season that he realizes he’s not 100 percent, but he’s always been the kind of player who is averse to acknowledging the presence of injuries. He says that if he’s healthy enough to be on the court, he won’t use injury as an excuse. Certainly though, he hasn’t shown as much explosiveness or been able to take over games individually as frequently as in the past. There have been glimpses of vintage Paul, as the Lakers witnessed Feb. 5 during a dominant stretch when the four-time All-Star drilled three straight three-pointers in rapid succession at the end of the third quarter. He also had a three-game stretch in March in which he averaged 28.7 points, one of the best scoring weeks of his career.

2) What’s the net effect of losing David West, with Carl Landry sliding into the starting line up and the obvious weakening of the bench? Also, how has center Emeka Okafor’s game developed this season?
Eichenhofer: Monty Williams said on multiple occasions that his biggest concern after West’s injury wasn’t Landry’s production as a new starter, but what the Hornets would get from their backup frontcourt players, so that definitely was a significant question mark. Though the reserve unit certainly was hurt by losing the offensive punch Landry provided, the bench has benefited from a pair of positive developments. Jarrett Jack has been the Hornets’ most effective reserve in recent weeks, averaging double-digit points in March and April. Specifically at the 4, Jason Smith suddenly began playing more over the last five games of the regular season and played well in about 19 minutes per outing.

After a self-described disappointing 2009-10 debut with the Hornets, Okafor has been one of the team’s most improved players. His numbers have always been there, but the impact he’s made this season has been significant. Perhaps the biggest evidence of Okafor’s value to New Orleans took place when he was was sidelined by injury for 10 midseason games. The Hornets went 3-7. Prior to Okafor’s injury, they had put together a 10-game winning streak that tied a franchise record.

3) Former Laker Trevor Ariza has really struggled with his shooting this season, hitting 39 percent from the field and 30 percent from three. Has he made up for it with defense and glue-type activity?
Eichenhofer: The most concrete evidence of Ariza’s impact on the defensive end is in New Orleans’ improvement from 21st in the league in points allowed per game last season to fifth. Williams has praised Ariza since early in the season for accepting the responsibility of guarding the opponent’s top wing scorers. Many people believed the Hornets were the least athletic team in the NBA last season, with older players logging substantial minutes at the 2 and 3 spots. Ariza helped greatly in that area. To his credit, he recently acknowledged that it’s been a frustrating time for him offensively. “Fans here have been great to me, even though I’ve had kind of a rough year,” he said. “They are still telling me to keep playing hard and have been very supportive.”

4) Who guards Kobe? We saw both Belinelli and Ariza on him in spots, and maybe even some Willie Green, with Bryant averaging 26.8 points on 48.8 percent shooting from the field.
Eichenhofer: I’m not sure. Williams has always avoided answering specific media questions about defensive assignments, so we’ll have to wait and see. Like many observers, I had expected to see Ariza defend Kobe almost exclusively during the regular season, so it was surprising when Belinelli guarded Kobe so often. Overall, I thought the Hornets did a commendable job against Kobe, but Bryant always seemed to drain that back-breaking mid-range jumper whenever the Lakers needed it most. I guess that made New Orleans just like every other frustrated Kobe/Lakers opponent in the league.

5) Do the Hornets believe they can beat the Lakers four times?
Eichenhofer: Great question. I imagine you’ve seen Monty Williams’ quotes before the Dec. 29 game, when he wondered out loud if the Hornets truly had the confidence to compete with a Lakers team that has won back-to-back titles. It’s impossible to get inside the players’ heads and know if they’re more confident vs. the Lakers now than they were at midseason, but one thing’s for sure: no one outside of New Orleans believes they can beat the Lakers four times.

6) What can Williams do to try and make L.A.’s major advantage in length dissipate a bit?
Eichenhofer: My first reaction is to say the Hornets should speed up the tempo, but there are at least two problems with that approach. For one, I’m not sure that playing a faster pace with more possessions wouldn’t actually play right into the athletic Lakers’ hands. Two, the Hornets haven’t pushed the ball much all season, playing at the second-slowest pace among 30 NBA teams. It’s difficult to imagine a team playing the 82-game schedule one way and then diverting from the style that got them to the postseason. Other than that, it’s probably a matter of the Hornets taking as many high-percentage shots as possible to prevent the long misses that lead to fast-break run-outs. New Orleans also could emphasis a gang defensive rebounding mentality.

7) What stands out to you most about the current Hornets’ bench? Jarrett Jack appears the best player on paper.
Eichenhofer: Without a doubt, during the second half of the season, Jack has been the bench’s best player. He struggled big-time in the first month or two after being traded here. I kept telling anyone around here who would listen “Be patient. I’ve watched him play with other teams. He’s a better NBA player than what he’s shown so far.” Right around when many fans were convinced that he wasn’t going to help, Jack put together an outstanding stretch of performances. His valuable contributions helped him reach the playoffs for the first time in his six-year NBA career. The bench in general has adjusted fairly well to the forced rotation changes that resulted from David West’s season-ending injury.

8) Who gets the most bench minutes in the front court in this series? Jason Smith? Aaron Gray? Is Smith willing to mix it up in the paint, or does he mostly settle for jumpers?
Eichenhofer: Gray’s playing time has often been based on the matchups that are presented by the opposing team. Since the Lakers possess one of the biggest frontcourts in the league, they’re a club that could cause the 7-foot, 270-pounder to log substantial minutes. Not that I’m comparing the two – and there certainly is no physical resemblance to the clean-cut Smith – but Smith is kind of a Dennis Rodman-type rebounder who tracks down misses and outhustles people for boards. He’s definitely not a bruiser who pushes guys out of the way or gets position rebounds. Smith gets most of his points away from the hoop, though he can finish too, as he showed in the paint during a 20-point game vs. Washington in February.

9) From afar, Monty Williams seems like a really good coach whose players respect what he’s trying to do. Is that a reason for N.O.’s improved defense this year, ranking fourth in points allowed (aided by a slow pace, obviously) and 12th in FG defense?
Eichenhofer: Without a doubt. During the Hornets’ surprising 11-1 start and their emergence as one of the NBA’s most improved teams, players have often been asked how their first-year coach managed to make such a rapid impact. The players have repeatedly cited three things: A defense-first mentality; an emphasis on preparation; and a consistent message from the coaching staff. Emeka Okafor: “I attribute all of the success we’ve had to (Williams) and his way. He’s very organized and methodical. He’s been very consistent – he says something and sticks to it. His game plan was ‘ We’re going to be a defensive team, and this is how we’re going to do it.’ For him to do that in his first year, that’s amazing.”

10) What else should we know about the Hornets?
Eichenhofer: The March 24 season-ending injury to West has made the Hornets less conventional in their lineup usage, forcing Williams to often alternate between big and small lineups late in the regular season. This might make the Hornets a bit more unpredictable and difficult to prepare for, but without West as a go-to option, offensive production is at a premium. “To say that we can (implement any major style change) post-David West, it’s hard,” Williams said recently. “I think we’re going to be re-inventing ourselves on a night-in, night-out basis, because of the situation. Some nights we’re going to be able to go small, some nights we’ll go big. Because of David’s (absence), we have to. If we can be good at different facets of our scheme, it may give teams one or two more things to prepare for.”

Odom, Gasol Look to Limit Love

Published by Mike Trudell on March 18, 2011 9:38 am in Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Preview.

Such are the offensive skills of Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol that there is often less focus about their collective defense at the power forward position, which has generally limited good opposing big men throughout the season.

With Minnesota coming into STAPLES Center on Friday evening, that defensive focus turns to Kevin Love, a first-time All-Star having a breakout statistical season with averages of 20.7 points and 15.7 rebounds. In Love’s first game in Los Angeles this season way back on Nov. 9, he exploded for 23 points and 24 rebounds in a 99-94 loss to the Lakers.

Odom in particular seemed to have that in mind when L.A. went to Minnesota a few weeks later, holding Love to without a single point on 0-for-7 shooting, which subsequently set off a 53-game double-double streak that was snapped at Golden State on March 13.

Within that streak was a 13-point, 11-rebound effort in a 90-79 loss to the Lakers in Minnesota on Mar. 1, though Gasol’s length and Odom’s activity combined to hold him to only 2-for-10 from the field, his points coming at the foul line (9-of-10).

Altogether, Love’s average of 12.0 points in three games against L.A. is his second lowest against any team, with Sacramento — another team with elite length at the four and five positions — holding him to 9.5 points. Thanks to his Nov. 9 effort, Love’s boards are at about average against L.A. at 14.0 per game, but he’s shooting just 26.5 percent from the field, his low against any team in the league.

Lakers Circle Mavs Game on Calendar

Published by Mike Trudell on March 12, 2011 2:47 am in Preview.

Saturday evening’s Lakers – Mavs game is set to take on even more importance than a March meeting between two teams separated by only 1.5 games in the Western standings normally would, thanks to the 2010-11 NBA schedule.

While each team plays most opponents in their own conference four times, and those in the opposite conference twice, each season there are four teams within a conference that a given team plays only three times. This year for the Lakers, the Mavericks (March 31) and Nuggets (April 3) come to STAPLES Center only once, while L.A. ventured to Oklahoma City (Feb. 27) and Houston (Dec. 1) just once.

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“With a three game season series, there’s going to be a 2-1 winner out of that, so there’s a whole sway as to whether (Dallas) can win the game tomorrow or not,” explained Phil Jackson. “It becomes an important game in the race for positions.”

This because if both teams finish with the same record, whichever team wins twice will carry the tiebreaker, and thus claim the higher seed in the playoffs. In this case, if neither L.A. or Dallas catches the first place San Antonio Spurs (6.0 games up on Dallas, 7.5 on the Lakers), the team that manages to finish second would carry potential home-court advantage were the two teams to meet in the Western Semi’s.

Of course, Jackson was quick to remind that before any speculation about playoff seeding or potential matchups of any sort, the Lakers can only now focus on beating Dallas on Saturday, which they weren’t able to do on their last trip to Texas (Jan. 19).

“Last time we came out really well and controlled the game for the first 15 minutes or so,” recalled Pau Gasol. “Then they made a run and got back in the game and it got away from us.”

The Spaniard’s memory serves him well here, as the Lakers raced to an early lead at 24-16 that they’d build to as high as 10 midway through the second quarter at 45-35. L.A. had been able to convert in the paint on one end, and keep the Mavericks restricted on the perimeter at the other. Dallas missed its first seven three-pointers, in fact, but that would end up haunting the Lakers as L.A. stopped getting out to contest shots only to watch the Mavs sink seven of their next eight triples to trim L.A.’s lead to just four at the half.

It was more of the same in the second half, Dallas adding five more three-pointers, five total from Jason Kidd and four from Jason Terry, to win 109-100.

“We do have to identify the guys that are three-point shooters,” said Phil Jackson when asked about areas of focus. “Kidd hurt us, Terry hurt us.”

The Lakers did not allow the league’s best three-point shooting team, San Antonio, to hurt them from long range in L.A.’s blowout win on Sunday, with only four of S.A.’s seven hits coming before garbage time. But while the general game plan of packing the paint, contesting threes and conceding mid-range jumpers will be employed, Jackson noted what differentiates the Mavericks from the Spurs.

“They’re unique,” he said. “They have a lot of different flavors as far as offense goes. They rarely post up … they have isolations for (Dirk) Nowitzki, but it’s a team that tries to break you down using screen rolls. It’s not about dribble penetration as much as it is about covering especially players like Terry and Nowitzki who are unique in their games.”

The Lakers are aware of two players now contributing to Dallas that weren’t playing back in January, recently healthy Rodrigue Beaubois and recently acquired Corey Brewer, as well as two bigs who weren’t with the Mavs last season in Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood.

“They have a lot of personnel that can be dangerous, they play well together, move the ball well,” said Gasol. “They have a nice, balanced team with a lot of players contributing. That makes them dangerous, but I think we are a dangerous team ourselves.”

LAL in OKC for New-Look Thunder

Published by Mike Trudell on February 27, 2011 9:44 am in Preview.

The title of this post could have included a qualifier of “sort of.”

After all, Kendrick Perkins, the primary piece in Oklahoma City’s trade deadline deal with the Boston Celtics, is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a sprained MCL. He suffered the injury in Boston’s Tuesday win over Golden State before being shipped to the Thunder. So while it’s a different OKC team from the one the Lakers beat in Los Angeles on Jan. 17, it’s not yet a complete team.

Gone are Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic to Boston, while Nate Robinson came over along with Perkins, who tore his ACL in Game 6 of the NBA Finals last season against the Lakers, and had played only 12 games since returning from surgery to average 7.3 points with 8.1 rebounds.

Oklahoma City got drubbed 111-88 in Orlando on Friday, an unfortunate matchup against an angry Dwight Howard who’d called out his teammates after the previous game, since Krstic was in Boston and also-acquired Nazr Mohammad (Charlotte) had yet to clear his physical. As such, Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison started at the four and five positions, with rookie Cole Aldrich the only big off the bench, and watched Howard rack up 40 points on 16-of-20 shooting.

On Sunday against the Lakers, Thunder Coach Scott Brooks may not want to use two power forwards in Ibaka and Collison against two 7-foot centers in Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, which could mean a starting slot for Mohammad in his first game in OKC. In related news, Mohammad happened to have dropped 16 points in 24 minutes against the Lakers in L.A.’s Feb. 14 loss at Charlotte.

James Harden, charged with picking up some of the scoring slack left by Green, played 36 minutes off the bench in Orlando to score 16 points, while Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook continue to pull a ton of scoring weight from the perimeter.

The tip off is at 11:30 Pacific, and will be aired nationally on ABC as well as locally on 710 ESPN radio.

Lakers in Portland for Aldridge, not Roy

Published by Mike Trudell on February 23, 2011 1:37 pm in Preview.

They’re not quite the Charlotte Bobcats, but the Portland Trail Blazers have nonetheless been a major thorn in L.A.’s side over the past few seasons, at least when playing at the Rose Garden.

In fact, the Lakers had lost nine consecutive games dating back to Feb. 23, 2005, before a Kobe-Bryant-less squad won in Portland on Feb. 6 of last season. Even with that win, the Lakers are just 3-15 in their last 18 trips to Oregon.

Phil Jackson’s “they wanted it more than we did” phrase comes to mind from those games at least in the past few seasons, the Blazers and their boisterous fans approaching the two Laker games each season like Game 7 of a playoff series, but L.A. treating the games like … well, just another regular season game.

That could explain why the Lakers failed to win in Portland in two of the past three seasons (1-5 overall) while going to the Finals in each campaign. Another major factor was the play of Brandon Roy, Portland’s best player over that period of time.

But this season, Roy has played in only 23 games while battling troublesome knees, averaging career lows of 16.6 points 3.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds, numbers he exceeded even as a rookie in 2006-07. Even though the Oregonian reported Wednesday morning that Roy is likely to return against the Lakers, the current reincarnation of the Blazers may belong not to Roy, but LaMarcus Aldridge.

Since Roy was shut down on Dec. 15, Aldridge has turned into a basketball monster. He’s gotten a bit better every month, going from 15.7 points in October to 18.9 in November, then 20.4 in December and 24.9 in January. Now in February, Aldridge has gone off entirely, averaging 29.1 points with 8.3 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.6 steals, all season highs for a month except on the glass (he grabbed 10.4 per game in January). He’s scored at least 34 points in five of nine February games, seven of which were Blazer wins, and hit the 40-point mark twice.

The University of Texas product had to pick things up due not only to Roy’s absence, but also that of center Marcus Camby, battling his own knee injury since January 15, who will be out of the line up against the Lakers. Replacing Camby is the much smaller Dante Cunningham, plus Joel Pryzbilla off the bench. Guards Andre Miller and Wesley Matthews have been solid throughout the season, while Nicolas Batum and Rudy Fernandez see the rest of the minutes on the wings.

It’ll be interesting to see how Roy’s able to play on his knees, but regardless, the Lakers know they’ll have to deal with Aldridge.

Lakers 8-1 in 2nd Game of Back-to-Backs

Published by Mike Trudell on February 11, 2011 3:46 am in Preview.

Usually, earning a victory on the tail end of a back-to-back is among the harder things to do in the NBA, particularly for one of the league’s older teams like the Lakers.

Yet this season, L.A. has gone 8-1 in such contests.

Thursday night produced a 92-86 victory over the Celtics to improve the Lakers’ record to 7-3 on the front end of back-to-backs heading into Friday night’s latter half at Madison Square Garden against New York.

One reason for L.A.’s success in back-to-backs this season has been the play of Kobe Bryant, which runs contrary to a prevailing notion that he’s better when having a day or two to rest. Bryant is averaging 27.7 points on 53 percent shooting (and 40 percent from three) with 5.6 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 1.67 steals. Each one of those statistics surpass his season averages of 25.4 points on 45.9 percent shooting (31.5 percent threes), 5.0 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.25 steals.

Lamar Odom’s and Andrew Bynum’s numbers are also up slightly in such contests, though Pau Gasol’s are down, though the Spaniard in particular often plays better against better teams. This makes sense as the Lakers have beaten, in order: Sacramento; Detroit; the Clippers; Indiana; New Orleans; Phoenix; Golden State; and Oklahoma City on the second night. The only loss came at Houston on Dec. 1, a night after losing at Memphis.

The Lakers only have six sets of back-to-backs left after the Boston-New York combo a season after playing in 20. In fact, the only other time the Lakers have played 15 or fewer sets of back-to-back games came in the team’s first NBA season, 1948-49, when they also played 15. Chicago, Milwaukee and Atlanta are atop the NBA with 23 back-to-backs each in 2010-11, while Oklahoma City (17) and Phoenix (16) have the next fewest after the Lakers.

We’ll see in a few hours whether or not the Lakers can bring their B2B record up to 9-1 on night No. 2, or if tired legs from Boston catch up to the twice defending champs.

Lakers Look to Length in New Orleans

Published by Mike Trudell on February 5, 2011 12:47 pm in Preview.

On Dec. 28 in New Orleans, the Lakers used their length to great effect in Andrew Bynum’s first start of the season, using a 33-18 margin in the second half to cruise to a 103-88 victory.

Bynum was too much to handle on the block for Hornets center Emeka Okafor, who conceded 18 points on 8-of-12 field goals to one of L.A.’s two 7-footers, while Lamar Odom came off the bench for 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Bynum and Odom added 17 more points apiece in another Lakers win a week later, with Pau Gasol adding 21 as New Orleans again struggled with L.A.’s length.

On Saturday evening in the Big Easy, the size disadvantage will be even worse for the Hornets, as Okafor will miss his third straight game with a strained left oblique, not to mention former Laker Trevor Ariza being out with a sprained right ankle. Compounding the loss of 40 percent of their starting line up, point guard Chris Paul — still arguably the league’s best, though we should include Deron Williams and now Derrick Rose in the conversation — rolled his ankle in N.O.’s last game, a 104-93 loss to the Thunder.

The injuries leave a front line combo of Jason Smith and David West to go against Bynum and Gasol. Smith, who’s listed at 7-feet but is really more of a perimeter based big who can knock down face-up jumpers, which also happens to be the strength of West’s game. So while the Hornets will be a small team, they still don’t get out and run much, as shown by their failure to score 100 points in three of their last four games, three of which were losses (at Sacramento, at Phoenix, at Oklahoma City).

New Orleans has been particularly good at home of late, however, winning six straight in New Orleans including an impressive 96-72 victory over the league-leading San Antonio Spurs. And they do it in part with defense, holding teams to an average of 92 points per game, the second fewest in the NBA. The Lakers expect to see some zone to try and slow down their bigs, while the Hornets will surely try and spread LAL out at the defensive end with the shooting range of their bigs, including backup David Andersen and his three-point shooting range.

Tipoff is at 5 p.m. Pacific.