Image courtesy of Keith Allison/Flickr
Time: 4:00 p.m. PST
Location: Verizon Center, Washington, DC
Where to watch: TWC/NBA TV
The Los Angeles Lakers kick off a three-game road trip in Washington, D.C. to face John Wall and the Washington Wizards.
Wall is at a high point so far this season, and helped his team beat the New York Knicks on Saturday with 31 points (the previous game he scored a season-high 37 points). His coach, Randy Wittman, said: “John backed up (Friday’s) game with another really good game for him. Playing the right way, taking really good shots. When he plays and takes what (a) defense gives him, (that) is the prime thing that he needs to do.”
As for sustaining more wins, Wall said: “The main thing with this team is the first quarter is big for us, especially on back-to-backs. Any game we want to play in this season, we need to start out with a good first quarter and a good third quarter. That’s how you determine if you’re going to have a chance to win it or have a chance to fight to the end.”
The Lakers are coming off a win against the Sacramento Kings and have a three-game winning streak going. However, the Lakers are 1-4 on the road this season (7-7 overall). They’re also 5-4 when coming off of one day of rest, which is a little more hopeful. This should be a good game for the Lakers because they’ve beaten Washington six of the last seven times.
Xavier Henry has really been coming into his own lately, scoring 21 points on Sunday off the bench. He said, “We have to carry our momentum right now. Right now guys are playing hard. We’re playing like we want it and when we have everybody playing that hard at one time, we’re really good.”
However, it was Nick Young who had some really encouraging feedback, explaining: “Everyone’s starting to know how to play and know what they are supposed to do out there. We are all relaxed out there, having fun.”
If they’re playing and having fun, it’s an indication that there is good chemistry on the team, and that they’re all in sync with each other. If this is true, then it should definitely show on the court.
The Lakers locked up Kobe Bryant for another two seasons yesterday, which probably only further reminded these guys that they’ll all be looking for new deals at the end of the season; maybe it’ll make them play harder.
Recommended for you
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
