NBA Game of the Week: Bucks at Lakers
While much of the intrigue was taken out of this matchup when LeBron James decided he didn’t want to wait for another game for greatness and scored 38 points against the Thunder Tuesday night to break the all-time scoring record in the NBA, there is still plenty left to play for.
Lebron breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record in a game between his two former teams seemed like an almost scripted scenario.
Despite the potential storylines that would arise from that happening, LeBron was determined to get the 36 points required to pass Kareem, in what was ultimately a losing effort to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
LeBron’s first game since reaching the top of the mountain will be against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, a tall task.
The Bucks and the Lakers are heading in two different directions this season.
The Bucks are sitting pretty at 37-17, which has them only one game behind the Celtics for the top seed in the Eastern conference.
The Lakers on the other hand are currently dwelling in the basement of the Western Conference, their 25-30 record has them at 13th in the west.
The Bucks are playing for the top overall seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, and the Lakers are fighting just to get to the play-in tournament, but neither team is lacking in top-tier talent.
Stars playing in this game include All-Star game captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, but also Anthony Davis, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday.
Antetokounmpo has multiple MVP seasons under his belt, but this year he has been every bit as good as those two campaigns, if not even better.
The Greek Freak is averaging 32.2 points per game, 12.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists so far this season. Giannis is right in the thick of the crowded MVP discussion, but he is focused on bringing another championship to Milwaukee.
These two teams faced off once before this season in Milwaukee, and a 40-point performance from Giannis was not enough to get the win.
The Lakers won 133-129 in a thriller, which makes beating them this time around even more difficult for Los Angeles.
Anthony Davis went off for 44 points and 10 rebounds in that game, the Lakers will need a similar effort from him come Thursday night if they want to pull off the upset.
Both of these teams excel at crashing the glass, the Bucks are first in the league with an average of 49.1 rebounds a game, and the Lakers are not far behind at fifth with 45.1.
Expect this game to come down to who can rebound better, and so far the Bucks have proven their ability to do so at a high level.
Giannis averages 12.4 rebounds a game, which happens to be the best in the league.
Antetokounmpo is not their only big presence down low, center Brook Lopez averages 2.4 blocks a game which is second in the NBA behind only Nic Claxton of the Nets.
Bobby Portis can grab some rebounds himself, also averaging over 10 a game, and ranks 12th in the entire NBA.
With the trade deadline swiftly approaching, the games become more intense due to several players potentially playing for their jobs.
This is bordering on a must-win for the Lakers, so expect the game to be competitive.
In the end, however, I expect the Bucks to keep it rolling and come away with the victory in Los Angles and avenge one of their losses from earlier in the season.
The two teams will take center stage on Thursday night at 10 p.m. on TNT.
Jameson Kramer is a fourth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email jek5650@psu.edu.
