Lakers Look to Bounce Back in Utah

The Lakers travel to Utah tonight to take on the Jazz in Salt Lake City. They will likely have a shortened rotation tonight, with D’Angelo Russell probably missing due to illness, Cam Reddish and Austin Reaves questionable, and injuries to Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood, and Jarred Vanderbilt. The Lakers are also coming off a tough loss the Thunder on Friday night, and will be looking to start off this road trip on the right track with a win.

LeBron James

For the last few games LeBron James has been struggling, especially with his turnovers. He had gotten off to a really good start to the season – especially for someone about to turn 40 – so this looks like more of a slump than Father Time finally catching up to him. The Lakers will be hoping he can get back to himself on this road trip.

Dalton Knecht

Since being reintroduced into the starting lineup, Dalton Knecht has returned to his scoring ways, leading the team in scoring in the past two games. He is an obviously great fit next to Lebron and AD, but we are also starting to see more individual shot creation from the rookie. He is making a good case case that he is currently the third option on the team.

There is still a lot of figuring out to do with the Laker rotation, especially with injuries, but what seems to be certain is that Knecht is cementing his spot in the starting five. Through the early ups and downs of the season, he has been a bright spot for the Lakers.

Can they pick up a win to start the road trip? It’s the first night of a back-to-back as the Lakers kick off their road trip in Utah.