Lakers vs. Nuggets preview: Lakers travel to Denver for late-season back-to-back

The Los Angeles Lakers played a competitive game against the Clippers Tuesday night, and their reward is a back-to-back in Denver against the Nuggets. This is the ultimate NBA trap, and stumbling into one at the end of the season is a gift from the NBA scheduling gurus for a Lakers team that's all but locked into the fourth-worst record in the NBA.

The plus side is Jordan Clarkson played well, attacked the rim and showed improvement after he made it public he too to film following Sunday's beat down. He's clearly become the star of the final leg of the Lakers' season, and watching him play is worth the attention with just five games left in the season.

Ty Lawson survived the avalanche in Denver, seeing big roster changes and the dismissal of head coach Brian Shaw. He missed the Nuggets' previous game with a forearm injury, but is expected to play against the Lakers. He'll be another challenging guard for Clarkson to deal with.

As simple as this loss may seem, the Nuggets are a bad, broken team riding a four-game losing streak into this game. The good news is the Lakers have such a large lead on Orlando it'd take a remarkable run to change their ultimate lottery fate. Enjoy the game as the Lakers' season wraps up it's bon voyage tour.

Time: 6 p.m. PT

Station: TWCSN