Lakers vs Trail Blazers is a 3-0 team against a 2-0 team tonight at Crypto.com Arena, and the matchup that may decide it is on the glass. The Los Angeles Lakers host the Portland Trail Blazers at 8 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock, with Spectrum SportsNet carrying the local broadcast. It is the first night of a back-to-back, since the Lakers visit the Clippers on Wednesday, and Portland arrives with a center who set a franchise record for offensive rebounds last season.
The Lakers’ glass problem
The Lakers have won each of their first three games by at least eight points, but the rebounding numbers are the soft spot. Here is how many offensive rebounds each opponent has collected so far, from ESPN box scores:
- Golden State Warriors (127-105 win): 15
- Los Angeles Clippers (125-117 win): 11
- Utah Jazz (132-123 win): 20
That is 46 in three games, or about 15 per night. The Utah game was the sharpest example. The Jazz outrebounded the Lakers 52-31 and scored 34 second-chance points and 58 points in the paint. The Lakers survived because Luka Doncic scored 52 points and Austin Reaves added 29, but a team cannot count on that every night. The Lakers collected 43 rebounds against Golden State, 37 against the Clippers and just 31 against Utah.
Why Portland is a harder test
The Trail Blazers beat Phoenix 124-83 on Oct. 21 and Sacramento 128-120 on Oct. 23, and they are averaging 126 points while shooting 48 percent in both games. Their offensive rebounding has driven part of that. According to ESPN box scores, they had 16 offensive rebounds against the Suns and 13 against the Kings, and won the overall rebounding battle 56-39 and then 45-42.
The key is the center Donovan Clingan. Portland’s game notes say he led the NBA in total rebounds last season with 892 and set a franchise single-season record with 347 offensive rebounds. He had 7 rebounds against Phoenix and 10 against Sacramento. Robert Williams III added 10 against the Suns and 6 against the Kings, which gives Portland two big men who live around the rim.
- Deni Avdija: 18 and 26 points, averaging 22 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5 assists.
- Damian Lillard: 25 and 19 points. The Associated Press reported his 25 came in his first regular-season game since rejoining Portland.
- Toumani Camara: 18 and 19 points.
- Jrue Holiday: 8 and 12 points, with 8 assists against Sacramento.
- Ja Morant: 14 points and 8 assists in his Portland debut.
How the Lakers can answer
The Lakers’ center rotation is deeper than the Utah box score suggests. Walker Kessler played 28 minutes against the Jazz with seven rebounds, but he also committed four fouls and is wearing a splint on his left finger. His night against the Clippers on Oct. 23, when he scored 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting, shows what he can do when he stays on the floor. Kevon Looney played just five minutes against Utah, and Sandro Mamukelashvili played 21 minutes with nine points and three rebounds.
Mamukelashvili is the more interesting wrinkle. The Infanity TV clip above is titled around Doncic’s comment that Mamukelashvili’s playmaking “is very good,” and that is useful against Portland because a big man who can pass from the high post pulls opposing centers away from the rim. It does not solve the rebounding by itself. It does let the Lakers keep a skilled big on the floor without giving up spacing.
The Lakers do have a counter. Against the Clippers they outscored them 58-48 in the paint, and Kessler’s finishing was a large part of it. If Portland’s bigs are busy chasing offensive boards, the Lakers can push the pace after defensive rebounds and attack before the Blazers’ frontcourt gets back. That only works if the first shot is actually rebounded, so the glass comes first.
Minutes picture on the first night of a back-to-back
Here is how the Lakers distributed their time against Utah, again according to ESPN:
- Doncic: 38 minutes (52 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists)
- Reaves: 36 minutes (29 points)
- Ziaire Williams: 30 minutes
- Kessler: 28 minutes
- Matisse Thybulle: 26 minutes (11 points, 3 steals)
- Sandro Mamukelashvili: 21 minutes
- Collin Sexton and Quentin Grimes: 20 minutes each
- Jake LaRavia: 15 minutes
- Kevon Looney: 5 minutes
With the Clippers waiting Wednesday, head coach JJ Redick will have to decide how much he wants to push his two stars tonight. Both Doncic and Reaves are healthy and not on the injury report. A comfortable lead would give Redick room to rest them in the fourth quarter, and rebounding is one of the main ways to protect that lead.
Injury report
- Lakers: Cameron Carr is out with a right oblique strain and has not made his debut. Adou Thiero is out with left knee effusion. Walker Kessler is available with the left finger splint. Heavy.com reported Redick calling Carr and Thiero day-to-day with no definite timeline, and that their next chance to return is Wednesday.
- Portland: Shaedon Sharpe is out after right meniscus surgery. Scoot Henderson is questionable with left ankle soreness, and Branden Carlson is questionable while in the concussion protocol. Two-way players Jayson Kent, John Tonje and Chris Youngblood are out on G League assignment.
Matchups to watch
Yahoo Sports speculated that Portland will give Holiday and Camara the assignments on Doncic and Reaves. That is a prediction and not confirmed by the team. If it holds, Portland’s two best perimeter defenders will be guarding the Lakers’ two scorers, and the Lakers’ supporting players will have to produce and rebound. Grimes, Thybulle and Ziaire Williams will be asked to help on the glass from the wing, because it will be hard for the guards to crash the boards while also running the offense.
Portland’s injuries also make its guard rotation thinner than its 2-0 record suggests. Sharpe is out, and if Henderson cannot go, Lillard, Morant and Holiday would carry most of the guard minutes. Portland’s next game is against Memphis on Oct. 29.
What to watch tonight
- Offensive rebounds allowed. Portland had 16 and 13 in its first two games; the Lakers have given up 11 to 20.
- Kessler’s fouls. If he picks up early fouls, Looney and Mamukelashvili will have to hold the interior.
- Second-chance points. Utah had 34 in the last game, and Portland has the personnel to chase a similar number.
- Fourth-quarter minutes for Doncic and Reaves with Wednesday’s Clippers game ahead.
Notes and conflicts
Several of the items above are unconfirmed. The Yahoo matchup projection is a forecast. Starting lineups were not official at publication time, and Henderson’s and Carlson’s statuses can change before tip-off. The injury-return timeline for Carr and Thiero is day-to-day from a secondary report. We have not used one widely circulated item that claimed to describe a Kawhi Leonard ankle sprain, because its schedule details do not match the real calendar.
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