}
Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 4:30 PM PDT
Capital One Arena - Washington, D.C.
Referees: Pat Fraher (#26), Scott Wall (#31), Matt Myers (#43)
Replay Center: Rodney Mott, Natalie Sago, Evan Scott, Simone Jelks
Line: Lakers -1.5
O/U: 227.5
National TV: ESPN
Local TV: Spectrum SportsNet
GAME PREVIEW: LAKERS AT WIZARDS: Whose got Russ and Beal?
by Christian Rivas, @RadRivas, silverscreenandroll.com
The Los Angeles Lakers had a night to forget the last time they played the Washington Wizards.
After leading by as much as 17 points, the Lakers lost to the Wizards 127-124 in overtime, which gave Washington their 11th win of the season. Sure, the Lakers were missing two starters in Dennis Schröder and Anthony Davis, and the All-Star break was just around the corner, but it was still a bad loss.
The Lakers are expected to only be missing one starter when they play the Wizards again on Wednesday, but unfortunately it’s their leading scorer from their last meeting, LeBron James.
James tallied 31 points, 13 assists and 9 rebound when the Lakers played the Wizards in February and the Lakers still lost. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had eight turnovers.
Davis will try to step up on both ends of the floor and avoid another letdown for the Lakers, but he’s still getting his legs back under him. Dennis Schröder and Montrezl Harrell building on their performances from Monday night would certainly take some of the pressure off of Davis.
Schröder will be of particular importance to Los Angeles on Wednesday because he’ll be tasked with guarding Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal during stretches of the game. Over the last 10 games, Beal has averaged over 30 points per game while Westbrook has averaged a triple-double. They’ve won eight of their last 10 games.
It’s unlikely that anyone had this game circled on their calendar at the beginning of the season, but at this stage, it’s a pretty interesting matchup with serious playoff implications. It should be a fun one.
The Lakers and Wizards will tip-off at 4:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN, and locally on Spectrum SportsNet.
Notes and Updates
- Jared Dudley (right MCL tear) and LeBron James (right ankle sprain) are out, but James might be returning sooner rather than later.
- Alex Caruso (back spasms) is questionable.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (right ankle sprain), Anthony Davis (right calf strain), Marc Gasol (volar plate fracture, left pinkie finger) and Dennis Schröder (left calf soreness) are
probable.
https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/202 ... adley-beal
