Lakers vs Sixers Preview and Game Thread: Recovering from a nightmare roadtrip

The Lakers look to get back on track against the Sixers, who have also struggled as of late.

After a tough five-game road trip, the Lakers are back in Los Angeles where they will take on the visiting Philadelphia 76ers for the first time this season on Friday. The purple and gold will play their next three games at home.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Philadelphia 76ers

When: 7 p.m. PT, Nov 8

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch: Spectrum SportsNet

I think I speak on behalf of Lakers fans when I say that the team’s first road trip of the season, where we saw them lose four of five games, was unexpected and, at the same time, disappointing. Maybe it was because they looked so good in their first three games at home, even winning back-to-back games, that it felt they could at least conquer the road trip with an above .500 record.

However, the Lakers return home a little more beat up with Anthony Davis’ injury now being designated as left plantar fasciitis, while Rui Hachimura remains questionable due to an illness that sidelined him against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Then there’s possibly more tension now between JJ Redick and his starting point guard, D’Angelo Russell, who the coach called out for his lack of compete on Wednesday. On top of all of that, it seems every team now knows the formula to beat the Lakers as their weaknesses were greatly exposed on this road trip.

Nobody needed to come home more than this team, who badly need to get back on the winning track before it’s too late. Luckily for the Lakers, beating the Sixers is made a little easier with both their All-Stars Joel Embiid (suspension) and Tyrese Maxey (hamstring injury) missing out on this one.

Still, this struggling Sixers team is going to fight and the Lakers will have to be ready for it. Here are two storylines worth paying attention to ahead of Friday’s showdown:

Can the Lakers’ defense regroup?

There’s no better time for the Lakers’ defense to reset than on Friday when they will take on one of the worst offenses in the league. Without Paul George and Embiid together in their first five games, the Sixers have the 26th-ranked offense. They’re also dead last in the league in rebounding and have a below-average defense. So, on paper, this matchup favors the Lakers a lot.

Still, the Sixers are desperate for a win, just like the Lakers, and the latter will have to earn this one, especially with the way they’re playing as of late. Expect Cam Reddish, who has seen more playing time in the last two games, to get some burn in this one to cover George and maybe even Kelly Oubre Jr.

What will also be interesting to watch out for is the guard rotation on who takes the tasks to defend Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry and Eric Gordon — three guards who will take Maxey’s minutes.

How will D’Lo respond?

Speaking of the Lakers’ guard rotation, Friday’s game will after Redick benched and called out Russell. The question ahead of this one is how is D’Lo going to respond? Will he actually perform better or continue the putrid play that got him benched in the first place?

It’s intriguing to see how Redick handles his guard rotation moving forward. It’s clearly one of their biggest weaknesses that they need to address. Was benching D’Lo and lessening his minutes a one-time thing? Does this mean more minutes for Gabe Vincent? Will there be a shift to the starting lineup?

Notes and Updates

• For the Lakers’ injury report, Anthony Davis (left plantar fasciitis) is now listed as probable after sitting out against the Grizzlies. Prior to that, Davis’ injury was labeled as heel contusion so there’s notably more clarity as to what AD is dealing with right now.
• Aside from AD, Jaxson Haynes (left knee soreness) is noted as probable while Rui Hachimura (illness) is listed as questionable.
• Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot injury recovery) and Christian Wood (right knee injury recovery) remain out. However, we should get an update regarding Vando’s progress, according to Redick, who did say last week that the forward is still experiencing normal discomfort on his feet.
• As for the Sixers, Joel Embiid (league suspension) and Tyrese Maxey (right hamstring strain) are out.
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.