Philadelphia 76ers vs Los Angeles Lakers Preview

The Philadelphia 76ers will meet up with the Lakers for the second time this season with a chance to win consecutive games for the first time.

Staring basketball infamy in the eyes, the Philadelphia 76ers notched their first win of the season over the Los Angeles Lakers in early December. Their 103-91 home victory ended their 18-game slide and prevented them from setting the worst start to a season in NBA history.

Fast forward exactly a month later and the two teams are set to do battle for the second, and final, time this season. The Sixers (3-31)  will continue their west-coast swing with a meeting with the Lakers (6-27) in Los Angeles Friday night at 10:30 p.m. ET.

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Previous matchup

In the team’s first matchup, Philadelphia high school product Kobe Bryant came out firing in what was his final game in Philly. Bryant knocked down three of his first four shots, all of which were from downtown, and it seemed as if The Mamba was going to go off for the first time in his final season. But Bryant would go on to shoot 4-22 from the field for the remainder of the game and some really ill-advised shots down the stretch aided in the Sixers’ attempt to come back and build a lead.

The Sixers knocked down 14 3-pointers and shot 46.8 percent from the floor. After trailing by eight at halftime, Philly outscored the Lakers 53-33 in the second half. A total of six Sixers scored at least 12 points in the game. They were led by Robert Covington who used five 3-pointers to score a team-high 23 points.

What’s at stake tonight

Both teams enter the night with a chance to win consecutive games for the first time this season. The Lakers are coming off a 112-104 road victory over the Boston Celtics and the Sixers are fresh off a 110-105 victory against the Sacramento Kings.

Beyond the potential winning streaks, there are draft-pick implications as well. The Sixers own the Lakers draft pick, but it is top-3 protected. The Lakers currently sit with the second-worst record, three wins behind the Brooklyn Nets and four behind the New Orleans Pelicans. For clarification, the odds of the Sixers getting that pick go from 44.2 percent to 53.1 percent if the Lakers finish with the third worst record. So either the Sixers will win consecutive games for the first time this season or the Lakers will be two games out of the third-worst record. It’s a win-win!

Key to the Game

Continue to push the ball with Ish Smith in the driver’s seat.

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Neither of these teams are great on the defensive end, but the Lakers are literally the worst defensive team in the league with a defensive rating of 108.8. The Sixers have really made an effort to push the ball since the start of the road trip, playing at the second-highest pace in the league since they came out west. That fast pace has led them to a 99.0 offensive rating over the last three games( their offensive rating for the season is 92.5). If the Sixers are active on the defensive end and push the ball off makes, misses, and turnovers, they should be able to put up a lot of points tonight.