Lakers take on Clippers in NBA Cup Action

The Lakers roll into tonight's NBA Cup showdown with the Clippers as the only team in Los Angeles that matters right now. They're 12-4 and riding high while their cross-hallway neighbors are scrambling to figure it out at 5-12.

The Landscape

The Lakers are perched atop the Pacific Division with that 12-4 record, and they're carrying early group-stage momentum in the NBA Cup like it actually means something. Meanwhile, the Clippers are clinging to James Harden's scoring and playmaking like a life raft, trying to keep a disastrous start from spiraling further. At 5-12 and scraping the bottom of the division, they need answers fast.

LeBron's fingerprints are everywhere

This marks LeBron's third appearance of the season, and even in limited minutes, he's been orchestrating the offense like a maestro. Through two games, he's averaging 14 points and 10 assists, functioning less as a volume scorer and more as a primary table-setter. He's unlocking easier looks for his teammates and smoothing out half-court possessions that would otherwise stagnate. It's another layer of creation next to the Lakers' established stars, and it's working.

The three-point problem that won't go away

Here's the catch: despite the strong record, the Lakers' perimeter shooting is a legitimate red flag. They're converting just 33.3% of their threes (26th in the league), and that's the kind of number that keeps winnable games closer than they should be. The roster has capable shooters, so the expectation is that this percentage normalizes over a larger sample. But if those outside shots start falling consistently? This already successful start could turn into something truly dominant.