The Lakers (29-26) fly into Salt Lake City for the tail end of a back-to-back at Utah (26-28), after Los Angeles took care of Detroit, 125-111, on Tuesday night. The game tips off at 6:00 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet.
Below are three things to know ahead of the matchup:
AD IN, LEBRON OUT
It’s never easy going into Utah for the tail end of B2B set of games, but LAL’s double-digit margin for nearly the entire front end against Detroit allowed Darvin Ham to limit Anthony Davis to 28 minutes, including the entire fourth quarter.
That could prove to be especially important on the back end of the two-game set, particularly since LeBron James said he’s going to miss it. LeBron played 31 minutes against the Pistons, including six minutes in the fourth quarter, totaling 25 points with eight assists.
Davis was phenomenal in his 28 minutes of action, scoring 20 points with 14 rebounds, three assists and six blocks, including a ridiculous swat of Jaden Ivey on a 3-on-1 Pistons fast break in which the 2nd-year guard made the ill-advised decision to challenge AD.
“He’s been our anchor ever since I’ve been here, and that’s just who he’s been from college to the pros,” said Ham. “Tonight was no different.”
The Lakers were also without LeBron at Utah on Jan. 13, when Davis notched his first of two triple-doubles this season, with 15 points, 15 boards, 11 assists and four blocks. It was his worst shooting night of the month of January, however, as he converted just 5 of 21 shots (23.8%), one of only three nights in 2024 in which he’s been under 50.0% from the field.
He's certainly due for a return to typical form on offense. His defense, meanwhile, never seems to waver.
RIDING THE WAVE
Since Feb. 1, the Lakers have won five games, to just one loss, a narrow defeat to the defending-champion Nuggets. L.A. have bested Boston (without LeBron and AD), New York, Charlotte, New Orleans and Detroit, to improve to three games over .500, for the first time since Dec. 18.
In that time, they’re operating the NBA’s 5th-ranked offense, and 8th-ranked defense. The offense has been aided by an extremely low turnover rate of just 10.0%, No. 1 in the NBA in that stretch, and a 71.2% assist percentage, to rank 2nd. Combined, the team’s assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.08 is No. 1 in the league.
“We’re just moving the basketball,” said Anthony Davis. “Trusting our teammates and playing the right way … when guys start to drive the basketball and create doubnle teams we’re doing a great job of kicking it out to our shooters and guys are taking their time and knocking down shots.”
Ham has been pleased with the direction of the team, but wants a win at Utah to really galvanize momentum heading into the All-Star break.
“Oh yeah … we need (the Utah) game,” he said after the win against Detroit. “But overall, I’m really happy with the way we’re trending.”
Ham did mentioned the importance of getting his injured players back; Cam Reddish and Max Christie are hopeful to return after the break, while Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent remain a bit further away.
DINWIDDIE’S DEBUT
The Lakers were able to acquire Spencer Dinwiddie in the buy-out market, saving the theoretical draft or player capital it would have taken to get him, and thus simply added him onto the team with their vacant 15th roster spot. In his first game in Purple and Gold, the L.A. native played 31 minutes off the bench, scoring six points on 2 of 6 shooting, while dishing seven assists opposite four turnovers, plus two steals.
“Just easing himself into the game … guys really being positive and encouraging him,” said Darvin Ham, noting the impact of Dinwiddie making plays for himself and others. “He’s not a hard guy to try and blend in to the rest of the group. He’s so multi-faceted that he’s going to find his spots.”
“(Darvin) had me in there with different lineups to try and find comfort zones,” said Dinwiddie. “A couple of reads I second guessed and got turnovers, unfortunately, and I really should have hit that open corner three off D-Lo’s pass, and (shoulda) had a more efficient shooting night. But in general, I think it was solid. We had a 20-point lead for most of the game, so I don’t think that’s indicative of impact. But it was fun to get out there. Everybody makes the game so easy – especially AD on the defensive end, he covers up everything, it’s amazing.”
“First game, I told him, ‘That’s a lot of assists for (you),’ I’d rather he put the ball in the basket, we didn’t get him to do all the passing,” quipped AD. “We’ll take it. He’s just trying to play the right way … fit right into the culture of moving the basketball.”
Dinwiddie’s scoring and passing will be needed in Utah, as the Lakers arrived at around 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning, with the rested Jazz long asleep in their beds. Without LeBron, that extra pop particularly on offense will be needed, and the Lakers are hopeful that Dinwiddie – who scored 29 points in one game, and had 14 assists in another this season – can pick up some of that slack.