The Los Angeles Lakers host the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at Crypto.com Arena.
Both teams enter tonight's matchup undefeated. However, the Trail Blazers have a notable rest advantage.
Portland last played on Friday night, defeating the Sacramento Kings on the road, 128-120. The Lakers are coming off a roadtrip battle with the Utah Jazz, in which they overcame an 18 point deficit to win 132-123 on Sunday.
Luka Dončić dominated for the Lakers with 52 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. His running mate, Austin Reaves, contributed 29 points on 7-for-12 shooting while going 11-for-13 from the free throw line.
The Lakers have seen steady contributions from center Walker Kessler throughout the first two games, but the Jazz emphasized shutting down their former center - creating opportunity for Reaves and Dončić to shine.
Kessler had just two points and seven rebounds in the win.
The Trail Blazers went 42-40 a season ago and made the playoffs as the Western Conference 8th seed. Building off their year, they made a few key offseason additions.
The Trail Blazers reunited with longtime point guard Damian Lillard in the offseason, signing him to a 3-year deal in July. Lillard, along with wing Deni Avdija, averages 22 points per game so far - leading the team.
Avdija earned his first All-Star nod last season and has continued to lead the Blazers this season. He averages 8.5 rebounds and 5 assists, and 1.5 steals to go along with his 22 points per game.
The Trail Blazers added former All-NBA guard Ja Morant via trade this offseason as well. Morant, the former 2nd overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies, struggled in his latter years in Memphis with off-court issues. However, while on the court Morant averaged 22.4 points, 7.4 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game across 327 career regular-season games from 2019-2026 with the Grizzlies.
Morant has averaged 13 points, 7.5 assists, and four rebounds so far this season.The Trail Blazers are anchored down low by center Donovan Clingan - who will be an interesting match up for Kessler.
First Pick: Walker Kessler over 10.5 rebounds
Rundown: Kessler has grabbed 28 rebounds in two matchups with Clingan and the Trail Blazers in his career. In his most recent matchup on October 29, 2025, Kessler had 18 points and 12 rebounds against the Trail Blazers. Kessler should also see more space and be less of a scouting focal point after Dončić went nuclear on Sunday. The Jazz also knew Kesslers tendencies and out rebounded the Lakers embarrassingly as a whole - one point Dončić and the Lakers emphasized they needed to clean up immediately.
Second Pick: Austin Reaves over 22.5 points
Rundown: Reaves has scored 23+ in all three games so far this season and has seen an increased usage this season offensively. Now with LeBron James gone this offseason, Reaves has been designated a secondary scoring and ball handling option behind Dončić. Reaves averaged 23.3 last season in a lesser role, so this over should continue to smash.