The NBA in Los Angeles is getting interesting. Despite not having any super stars in town the Clippers are battling for a playoff position and the Lakers are starting to play winning and entertaining basketball.
Last weekend LeBron James and Cleveland visited the Staples Center to play the Clippers on Friday and the Lakers on Sunday. Both of the Los Angeles teams beat the Cavaliers in convincing fashion and both teams are playing well without big name players in the lineups.
"Guys are defiantly stepping up," said Laker head coach Luke Walton after their win over Cleveland last Sunday. "Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been playing tremendous for us and Kyle Kuzma is really doing a nice job of just helping us win games. Different guys are stepping up. Travis Wear is another player that is playing well. This happens when guys are playing for each other and playing for the right reasons."
Another player who is having a very good season is forward Julius Randle. Randle score a career high 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds against Cleveland. "I think Julius can play better," said Walton. "I told him that he is so grifted that he should be playing at a high level every night."
The Lakers are currently 30-36 and they could still make the playoffs but they would need to win 12 out of their 14 remaining games to have a chance. Their next game is Friday at home against the Miami Heat. After that they have four more road games before they return home for two games at the end of the month.
The Clippers are currently 36-29 and they play three very important road game this week before returning home to face third place Portland at home on Sunday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m. The Clippers have 15 games remaining in the regular season and if they expect to make the playoffs they probably need to win at least 10 to 12 of those games.
The Clippers are in a tight playoff race against New Orleans, San Antonio, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Denver and Utah. All seven teams currently have 36-39 wins.
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