Los Angeles Lakers vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Preseason Game Preview (Updated)

The Los Angeles Lakers hope to play better basketball in their final preseason game on Wednesday before opening up the regular season versus the Chicago Bulls on Christmas Day.

With plenty of moving parts on this Lakers team, including a new-look roster and a new system, Wednesday's game versus the Los Angeles Clippers gives the Lakers another chance at building chemistry and implementing Mike Brown's offensive and defensive game plans.

Date: Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Time: 7:30 PM PST

Location: STAPLES Center (Clippers Home Game)

TV: NBA TV (National), KCAL 9 (Local)

Radio: 710 ESPN

Projected Starting Lineups:

Los Angeles Lakers		Los Angeles Clippers
PG	Derek Fisher	PG	Chris Paul
SG	Kobe Bryant	SG	Chauncey Billups
SF	Matt Barnes	SF	Caron Butler
PF	Pau Gasol	PF	Blake Griffin
C	Andrew Bynum	C	DeAndre Jordan

Game Notes

Derek Fisher is slated to play Wednesday after sitting out in Monday's matchup.

Devin Ebanks missed practice yesterday with a sore right foot. The MRI on his Achilles did not reveal anything of note. He was projected to start earlier in the week. If Ebanks doesn't go, Matt Barnes will get the start again at SF.

UPDATE: The Lakers are now reporting that Kobe Bryant has a torn ligament in his right wrist and will not play in tonight's game versus the Clippers. He's listed as day-to-day. My guess is that Metta World Peace will slide into the starting lineup with Barnes moving to SG.

Storylines

The hallway rivals meet again under the STAPLES Center lights with the Clippers having the opportunity to host this matchup. Expect plenty of Laker fans for this "road" game, although maybe not as loud as they might have been in years past.

The Lakers should be focusing on playing better team defense on the perimeter after allowing the Clippers to shoot 46.4 percent from downtown in the game Monday. Then again, new defensive systems take some time to implement.

The principles shouldn't be new to the players, but the instincts and muscle memory take time to reprogram.

We will see how Derek Fisher looks in his first game action. The entire world has written off the 37-year-old before he's even played a game. I give Fish a little more credit than that. If he can find a role playing tough minutes in short spurts, particularly at the end of games, then all is well.

This means Steve Blake will return to the second unit. While Darius Morris was the star of the bench on Monday, it will be Blake's turn to run the offense. Blake had five dimes in Monday's game while D-Mo contributed 11 points.

On Monday, the Lakers suited 19 players, yet only played 13. The same number should be suiting up again for Wednesday's game, but those who get to see the floor will be up to Mike Brown.

Wednesday will be the Lakers' last chance at a tune-up before facing the 95-million-dollar man Derrick Rose and his powerhouse Chicago Bulls to start the regular season.

The Lakers did not look in sync on defense Monday and had stalls in ball movement on offense. After an hour-long film session yesterday, the Lakers look to shake the kinks tonight.

What To Watch For

Will Metta World Peace bounce back after going 0-for-8 from the field? Is he capable of leading the bench mob?

Will Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum be given more offensive looks as has been designed under Mike Brown's twin tower, "bigs run the floor" offense? Magic Johnson thinks they should.

Can Mike Brown find good rotations that utilize the talents of new additions Troy Murphy, Josh McRoberts and Jason Kapono to their fullest?

Will the Lakers outrebound the Clippers again and control the glass as they did on Monday?

What's Ahead

The Lakers are set to start the regular season Sunday, December 25, versus the Chicago Bulls. The Christmas Day game is at 2:00 PM PST and can be seen nationally on ABC.