Lakers vs. Blazers Preview and Game Thread: Back on the road

The Lakers look to snap their losing streak as they head on the road where they will take on a rejuvenated Blazers team

After losing to the Charlotte Hornets on the first game back from the All-Star break, the Lakers are back at it on Thursday against the Portland Trail Blazers. This is the first of the next two games on the road for Los Angeles, who are currently on a two-game losing streak.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers

When: 7 PST, Feb 20

Where: Moda Center

Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet

If there’s a team that the Lakers have had great success against in the last two seasons, it’s none other than the Portland Trail Blazers. L.A. has won their previous five matches against Portland dating back to last year and two of their most comfortable wins this season have been at their expense.

But Thursday’s contest might just be the toughest one against the Blazers in a while for the Lakers. Not only are the purple and gold going to be playing on the road — where they have a 13-14 record this season — but they are on the second night of a back-to-back. It doesn’t help that they’re facing a rejuvenated Blazers squad that recently gained winning momentum and actually now have hopes of at least making it to the play-in tournament.

Portland is expected to play their main guys Jerami Grant, Scoot Henderson and Robert Williams III who are all listed as questionable. Hopefully, the Lakers approach this one with the plan to simply play better than they did against the Hornets.

For starters, it would be nice if the Lakers stopped turning the ball over. They had 18 turnovers on Wednesday. Also, they sure could use a lot more offense instead of relying on LeBron James and Luka Dončić taking turns either playmaking or scoring. I’d personally want to see a more assertive Austin Reaves, who left Wednesday’s game after getting ejected for the first time in his career.

The Lakers need a strong bounce back game immediately. Losing to two lottery teams in a row is inexcusable.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this team comes out of the games on Thursday: Will they play angry and focused or like a team that knows this is a sure loss given that they’re on a back-to-back?

Hopefully, the Lakers get back on the winning column by Thursday because their schedule isn’t going to get any easier. As they continue to figure out how to fit Dončić into their system, winning in the process is as crucial. Let’s see if the Lakers can turn our frown upside down in the next 24 hours as they aim to snap their two-game losing streak.

Notes and Updates

• If the Lakers are serious about winning games, they can’t give up 23-1 runs like they did to Charlotte on Wednesday. They also can’t score just 18 points in a quarter. More needs to be done in order for them to win against the Blazers on Thursday.
• For the Lakers’ injury report, there’s not an updated one yet since they’re going to be playing on the second night of a back-to-back. One Laker who we know won’t play is Maxi Kleber (right foot fracture), who will be out for weeks. The bigger question is whether Luka or LeBron will sit. This seems to be something the Lakers are considering doing.
• As for the Blazers, Deandre Ayton (left calf strain) and Matisse Thybulle (right ankle sprain) are out. Meanwhile, Jerami Grant (right knee soreness), Scoot Henderson (right ankle sprain) and Robert Williams III (right knee soreness) are questionable.
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.