Lakers vs. Trail Blazers Preview: Can the Lakers give LeBron James a night off?

The Los Angeles Lakers will try and put an end to their four-game losing streak with a win against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center on Saturday.

The Lakers saw the Trail Blazers earlier this month and their first meeting was hardly a contest. LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined for 70 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and four blocks as Los Angeles handily beat Portland 136-113.

Since then, the Trail Blazers have slowly climbed up the Western Conference standings and are currently slotted at the No. 8 seed in spite of the fact that they lost one of their key players, Rodney Hood, to a devastating Achilles injury. Meanwhile, the Lakers have taken a slight step back. In fact, both the Lakers and Trail Blazers have nothing gone 4-4 since the last time they saw each other.

That’s not to say the Lakers won’t assert their dominance over the Trail Blazers once again on Saturday night, but they can’t afford to go into the game with the assumption that it’s going to be another easy win for them. If they do, their losing streak could carry over to a tough matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

Notes and Updates

• The Lakers have listed LeBron James has questionable to play on Saturday. James is currently dealing with a groin strain and a back muscle injury.
• Anthony Davis (knee) and Kyle Kuzma (ankle) are probable to suit up against the Trail Blazers. In the Lakers’ last game, Davis and Kuzma combined for 49 points on 16-34 shooting from the field.

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