The Lakers have sprinted out of the gate, and Tuesday night brings another early-season measuring stick. Los Angeles is 3-0, Portland is 2-0, and both teams walk into Crypto.com Arena with offenses that have come out swinging.
For the Lakers, the engine has been Luka Doncic. He just put together one of the loudest stat lines of the young season, pouring in 52 points and handing out 10 assists in Sunday’s 132-123 win over the Utah Jazz. That comeback mattered even more because Los Angeles had to erase an 18-point hole to stay unbeaten.
Doncic’s overall line through three games says plenty about how this start has gone: 34.3 points, eight assists and 7.3 rebounds per game. Austin Reaves has given the Lakers another steady lift, too, averaging 26.7 points and giving Doncic a dependable scoring partner.
Portland hasn’t been shy about making noise either. The Trail Blazers opened with a 124-83 blowout of the Phoenix Suns, then followed it up by beating the Sacramento Kings 128-120. Their revamped group has already shown plenty of firepower, with Damian Lillard, Ja Morant and Deni Avdija giving the Blazers multiple ways to attack.
Avdija led the way against Sacramento with 26 points, while Lillard and Toumani Camara chipped in 19 apiece.
This matchup brings together the league’s two highest-scoring teams so far. The Lakers are putting up 128 points per game, with Portland right behind at 126. That kind of pace makes for an obvious headline, but the real question for Los Angeles is whether its defense can keep up.
The Lakers have given up at least 117 points in each of their last two games, and that leaves a door open for Portland’s balanced attack. The Blazers have enough scoring options to make life difficult if the game turns into a track meet.
There’s also a little recent history in Portland’s favor. The Trail Blazers won two of three meetings with the Lakers last season, though Doncic missed all three of those games.
Both teams have started hot. Tuesday gives one of them a chance to show it’s more than just a fast first week.
In Other News...
Lakers Have A Bigger Problem Than Luka Can Fix Alone
Luka Doncic delivered a 41-point night, but it still wasnt enough to carry the Lakers past Portland in a 136-129 loss that exposed how much more this team needs than one elite scorer. Los Angeles had plenty of offense and enough firepower to stay in the game, yet the bigger issue showed up on the other end, where Portland kept finding efficient looks and controlled the possession battle with its edge at the line.
The Trail Blazers didnt just ride hot shooting from deep, they also did damage inside, outscoring the Lakers from beyond the arc and in the paint. For a team built to compete now, that kind of defensive breakdown is the more troubling takeaway, because even a special performance from Doncic can only cover for so much if the Lakers keep giving away points in bunches. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Fans Will Notice Ziaire Williams Is Not Changing His Edge
Ziaire Williams picked up a $2,000 fine from the NBA for flopping in a game against the Utah Jazz, but the Lakers forward did not sound like someone ready to back off his style anytime soon. Williams said he disagreed with the leagues ruling, though he also made it clear he will pay the fine and keep playing with the same edge on defense.
Williams also said he plans to appeal in hopes of getting the money back, which leaves the episode feeling more like a brief detour than a change in approach. For the Lakers, the bigger takeaway is probably the one Williams himself emphasized: whatever the league thought of that call, his commitment to being disruptive on that end of the floor is not going anywhere. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Loss To Portland Turned On A Late Whistle Fans Will Debate
A late-season whistle can change the feel of a game in a hurry, and that was the case at Crypto.com Arena when officials handed out technical fouls for flopping in the fourth quarter. Ja Morant, Toumani Camara and Ziaire Williams were all hit with the same call in a tense finish, turning a close stretch into the kind of ending fans and players are likely to replay for a while.
Morant took issue with his own call afterward, saying he had simply raised his hands and absorbed contact, and he planned to try to get it overturned. Portland left with the win and moved to 3-0, while the Lakers dropped to 3-1, a result that will leave plenty of attention on the sequence rather than just the final score. [Read more 🡒]