Something's gotta give.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers will both carry unblemished records into Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night. Only one will make it out with perfection still intact.
Their early successes have stemmed from similar places. They've had soft schedules, for starters, and their offenses have absolutely feasted on the opposition. The Lakers are following the ludicrous lead of the Luka Dončić-Austin Reaves pairing, while the Blazers are so far balancing the Damian Lillard-Ja Morant backcourt and still finding ways to showcase forwards Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara.
This could be one of those first-to-get-a-stop-wins games, as both offenses have seemed unstoppable so far. But this is also the best team either has faced, so maybe some of these league-leading numbers will slow down a bit. (Although, for the record, you can consider us totally down for a sprint to 130 points.)
It should be an action-packed, aesthetically pleasing evening, and we'll be here throughout with all of the updates, highlights and takeaways you could possibly need.
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It might be a little fuzzy after the sweeping roster changes in free agency, but before all that, the Lakers may have snagged a draft steal by acquiring swingman Cameron Carr with the 24th pick.
The bouncy rookie plays a loud game—loads of athleticism, some fiery shooting runs—but L.A. fans haven't seen it yet. An oblique strain has delayed his regular-season debut, but it sounds like things are trending the right direction.
The Trail Blazers might be bringing an unblemished record into this tilt, but it features two wins over the Phoenix Suns (who were buried as soon as Portland opened the contest on a 21-0 run) and the Sacramento Kings (who were doomed during a disastrous third quarter).
That's not to say Portland is anything other than good team, but it's worth noting this team hasn't played a good one for a minute. Even the preseason slate was soft: two games with the Golden State Warriors, one with those lowly Kings and one against the London Lions.
The Blazers have a real chance to make a statement tonight, not to mention a chance to spotlight the latest leap from Toumani Camara. Already a highly regarded defender (sure to draw a marquee matchup here), his offensive output has erupted to 18.5 points on—wait for it—61.9/52.9/100 shooting.
How much of this is remotely sustainable? We may be closer to finding out once this one gets rolling.
A 52-piece on Sunday gave Luka Dončić more than the current scoring lead. It also tied him with Hall of Famer (and Lakers legend) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the 11th-most 50-point games in NBA history.
Dončić won't turn 28 until February. He should have plenty of fire-breathers still ahead of him. Probably not enough to push Wilt Chamberlain for the top spot, but Dončić is far from finished moving up this list.
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.jpg?w=2560 "JT, Downs' Top Landing Spots ✈️")
