Lakers vs. Knicks Summer League Preview: Bring on The Zinger

The Los Angeles Lakers take on their third top-five draftee in as many Summer League games tonight when they face the New York Knicks, headlined by No. 4 pick Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis got his first taste of NBA action Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs, but like L.A.'s Julius Randle, is on a minutes restriction as his conditioning improves. After facing Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor in back-to-back games, the Lakers will find yet another challenge in the middle with Porzingis.

The big story for Los Angeles is Randle's return to the floor after sitting out Saturday's game for precautionary reasons. Randle had a mostly-anonymous performance in the matchup against Minnesota Friday, likely unable to find a rhythm after so much time off and being in for four-minute stints, but he had some strong moments in the final few minutes. Look for Randle to come out to a fast start, with some more highlights like this.

The Laker guards have already made an impression in Las Vegas. Jordan Clarkson has stolen the spotlight thus far with his 21 points per game, proving once again that you have to take sophomore Summer League stats with a grain of salt. Clarkson has looked a step quicker than his competition for much of the last two games, showing off his scoring and explosiveness as an off-guard for the first time in his brief Laker career. D'Angelo Russell should be able to show off some more of his killer vision, and hopefully have a better time finishing at the rim than he has in the past two games.

This is the last preliminary game for the Lakers until the Summer League tournament begins. Enjoy your latest look at the Clarkson-Russell backcourt - a pairing that won't be limited to Las Vegas - before the real games, at least for summer, start later this week.

Time: 5:30 p.m. PT

Station: NBA TV, TWCSN