Los Angeles Lakers: What to watch for on Opening Night

The Los Angeles Lakers take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Opening Night with a new-look roster that is ready to contend for a title.

After six years of missing the playoffs and enduring the worst stretch in franchise history, the Los Angeles Lakers are ready to turn a new leaf on Tuesday night. The Lakers open up the 2019 NBA season against their cross-hall rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers also have a roster that is ready to contend for the NBA Championship. There is a very good chance that the team that represents the Western Conference in the Finals is from Los Angeles.

This is going to be a compelling first game between the two teams that are vastly different from a year ago. The Lakers head into the game with no significant injuries and are full strength, while the Clippers are going to be without Paul George.

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It is going to be a fun game and one game does not define a season, but winning this one will feel important to the Lakers. Here are the three things, in particular, you should watch for as the Lakers look to start the season 1-0.

1. Avery Bradley versus his old team

One of the most compelling players on the Los Angeles Lakers this season is Avery Bradley. At one point, Bradley was one of the 10-best defensive players in the league and was played a huge role in the Boston Celtics making it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

He then went to Detroit and was decent and was traded to the Clippers in the Blake Griffin deal and never found his footing. He was hurt right after the trade and then was fairly awful in half a season with the Clippers before being traded to Memphis.

There, Bradley was better and looked more like his old self. He came into camp this year in phenomenal shape and looks to have a big impact on the rotation this season.

Bradley has a little bit more of a chip on his shoulder in this game and it could be very fun if he has an explosive game against his former team.

2. Will it really be Anthony Davis’ team?

The narrative going into this season is that LeBron James is going to give way for Anthony Davis to be the guy this season. It makes sense, as LeBron is entering the later stages in his career and for the first time in his career might finally have someone that is better than him on the court.

James is still lethal and can do it all but it would be more beneficial for LeBron to let Davis do most of the heavy lifting to preserve himself for the postseason.

LeBron will likely have Kawhi Leonard matched on him while Davis is going to deal with Montrezl Harrell. Both are great defenders, so it will be interesting to see if LeBron looks to take things in his own hands down the stretch or if he truly looks to Anthony Davis to lead the team.

It sounds so cliche, and it is, but we might get the answer to this question solely based on who the last shot is designed for.

3. The defensive outlook

The Los Angeles Lakers’ defense looked pretty solid against the Golden State Warriors but they were also coming up against a Warriors team that was significantly undersized compared to the Lakers.

The Clippers are primed to be the best defensive team in the league this season and it will be interesting to see how the Lakers’ defense keeps up and limits the Clippers.

Anthony Davis probably can’t be matched on Kawhi Leonard on the wing, which could create a Danny Green-Kawhi matchup for most of the night. From there, it will be interesting to see how Lou Williams performs, where exactly LeBron fits in on defense and how much of a defensive impact Anthony Davis can really have.

Next. Predicting the 2019 regular season record. dark

With Frank Vogel as the head coach and some nice defensive pieces, I think the Los Angeles Lakers are going to be much better defensively than people give him credit for. We will get a taste of whether or not that is true on Tuesday night.

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