The Los Angeles Lakers have been off to a solid start this season despite dealing with injuries to Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Jordan Farmar and on Friday night they will head to play against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena and the game will start up at 8:00 pm on ESPN and has two teams looking to stay on track in the west.
Bryant has returned for the Lakers after missing the first month of the season and the team now is 10-11 heading into the back stretch of the December schedule and the team, now faces off against one of the best teams in the west in the Thunder, as they are 17-4 on the season. The Lakers come into the matchup without a legit point guard after Steve Blake was also injured and now Pau Gasol will have even more pressure on him as the team heads towards 2014 and that could mean some tough matchups down low for the big man. The Lakers come into the matchup after losing to the Phoenix Suns and the game saw Kobe Bryant lead the team with 20 points, while Steve Blake had 10 assist before leaving and Jordan Hill led the way with seven rebounds and now they will take on Kevin Durant and the Thunder.
Check here for the Lakers and Thunder ESPN stream.
The Thunder have been playing very well with Durant and Russell Westbrook leading the way and he seems like he is fully back from the knee injury that cost him the playoffs last season. Westbrook and Durant are one of the best duos out west and they have the chance to do something special if he remains healthy this year. The Lakers are on a little road trip now and their next game will be against the Charlotte Bobcats on the east coast and that's never easy for the west coast teams. The Lakers come into the matchup ranked third overall in the league in assists, but that's likely to change with the injuries, while the defense has not been strong, allowing over 100 points per game. The team is scoring over 1010 per contest this season and they are ranked 14th in the league in rebounding.
The Thunder come into the matchup after winning a tough matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies on the road and the team will next host the Orlando Magic after playing Los Angeles. Westbrook led the way with 27 points and nine assists, while Serge Ibaka had seven boards to lead the team and now they come in with one of the best front lines in the league. The Thunder are ranked second in the NBA in rebounds per game and they are fourth in points with 105 per game. The team is ranked 10th in the NBA in points allow3ed and 16th in assists and the game on Friday night will be on ESPN at 8 pm.
