The Los Angeles Lakers have dropped their first three games of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers, and the players and coaching staff will look to avoid the season sweep when the they host them again Sunday.
The front office, however, probably wouldn’t mind if the Lakers dropped this one. The team is currently neck-and-neck with the Phoenix Suns in the race for the second-worst record in the NBA (and thus the second-best chance for the Lakers to keep their top-three protected pick in the 2017 NBA Draft).
Portland would be happy to oblige them, as they’re locked in a race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, sitting just one game back of the Denver Nuggets after winning seven of their last ten games.