All the talk of Los Angeles Lakers assembling a super team proved to be premature as cross-town rivals Los Angeles Clippers, who were shorthanded, taught the Showtime a lesson in game-1. A timely reminder that the mere addition of big names to a roster doesn’t guarantee success.
That said, Lakers still remains bookies’ favorite to win the coveted title. And they are on merit, for the 16-time champions have Lebron James on their roster. He was far from his best in the season opener. He looked rusty, as he made some wayward passes, and his positioning and the energy was not up to the standard the King has set for himself. James will not be as average as he was in game -1. And don’t forget that Lakers have Anthony Davis.
Lakers now have the 2nd opportunity to put things in order as they host Utah Jazz in game-2 at Staples Center.
Talking about Jazz, they come into this game on the back of a 100-93 win over Oklahoma City Thunder.
Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 32 points and had 12 rebounds to end the match with a double-double. Rudy Gobert had 14 rebounds, while Emmanuel Mudiay scored 12 points from the bench.
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MATCH DETAILS:
Match Timing: October 26, 2019, @ 08:00 AM IST
Venue – Staples Center
Capacity- 21,000
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LAL vs UTA DREAM11 Team News:
Los Angeles Lakers –
Lakers have key issues facing them before this match. Rajon Rondo missed the season opener against Clippers with a calf injury, and Lakers are yet to provide an update on the player’s availability for this game. So expect Rondo to be a game-time decision.
Kyle Kuzma is still out on the sideline with an ankle injury. The 24-year-old forward missed Lakers’ preseason with the same issue. However, he has returned to light training and could be involved in a couple of weeks.
DeMarcus Cousins (knee injury) along with young forward Talen Horton-Tucker (foot injury), will miss this match.
Los Angeles Lakers squad for the NBA Regular Season 2019-20:
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Zach Norvell, Rajon Rondo, Jared Dudley, Kostas Antetokounmpo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso, Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels, Danny Green, Talen Horton-Tucker, Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee
Utah Jazz –
Bojan Bogdanovic played through the pain after suffering a left ankle sprain in game-1 against OKC and helped azz to open the season with a win. The 30-year-old is a doubt for this match. Dante Exum has been ruled out for Utah Jazz with a knee injury.
Utah Jazz squad for the NBA Regular Season 2019-20:
Rudy Gober, Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanović, Jarrell Brantle, Justin Wright-Foreman, Tony Bradley, Royce O’Neale, Joe Ingles, Dante Exum, Georges Niang, Miye Oni, Nigel Williams-Goss, Emmanuel Mudiay, Jeff Green, Ed Davis, Stanton Kidd
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LAL vs UTA Dream11 Playing Team (Probable 5) :
Los Angeles Lakers – Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Danny Green, JaVale McGee, Avery Bradley
Utah Jazz – Royce O’Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley Jr.
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LAL vs UTA Dream11 Fantasy Picks:
Donovan Mitchell: Slowly but slowly, he is becoming the player everybody thought he could be. Scored a game-high 32 points and a double-double in the last game.
LeBron James: Was a bit rusty against the Clippers. But he is once in a generation kind of player. Will be back
Anthony Davis: Was good in game-1. He is expected to lead the scoring charts for Lakers this season.
Rudy Gobert: Not many players in the NBA who can dominate the rim as much as he can.
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LAL vs UTA Dream11 teams:
Team 1:
Team 2:
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LAL vs UTA Dream11 Predictions:
Expect Lakers to show improvement in this game.