Lakers News: Tweaked Starting 5 Announced For Los Angeles Against Utah
Your 40-38 Los Angeles Lakers will be down a starter tonight against the 36-42 Utah Jazz, but that shouldn't adversely impact their efficacy too much, as it seems like Utah is packing in its season.
The Jazz are still just 1.5 games behind the Western Conference's tenth-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, who tonight will face off against a better (and motivated) 41-38 Golden State Warriors team, the West's sixth seed. Utah doesn't need to really surrender tonight, but without All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen, second-leading scorer Jordan Clarkson, or top defender Walker Kessler, its odds of a victory are slim.
Los Angeles is missing starting point guard D'Angelo Russell, out for "cautionary" reasons with a sore left foot.
Reserve guard Dennis Schröder will get the nod for D-Lo, Los Angeles has revealed. While Schröder may not be the scorer or shooter Russell is, he's a high-level playmaker and pretty good defender. The rest of the Lakers' starting five is its ideal group: shooting guard Austin Reaves, All-Star small forward LeBron James, power forward Jarred Vanderbilt, and center Anthony Davis.
Per Trevor Lane of Front Office Sports, the Jazz are set to start ex-Laker Talen Horton-Tucker and Ochai Agbaji in their backcourt, Luka Samanic at small forward, Kelly Olynykat power forward, and Udoka Azubuike at center. Not exactly a murderer's row. There's a reason the Lakers are 10-point favorites to win tonight.
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