NBA Christmas Day Re-Match: Cavaliers vs. Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers try to redeem themselves from the embarrassing 102-87 lose at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas Day. Cleveland made it look easy that night as they shot over 54 percent from the floor, including almost 40 % from 3 point land.

This time around things are a little different. Mo Williams has been diagnosed with a sprained left shoulder that will cause him to miss at least a month. This takes away the deep threat, and will force LeBron James to do more offensively. This is not always a bad thing as LeBron has the ability to break down any defense.

Los Angeles still has question marks regarding their second leading scorer Pau Gasol. He has been sidelined for much of the season, and is taking his return very seriously as he doesn’t want to re-injure himself. Many believe the injury was caused by the tremendous basketball schedule he plays. Either way, he has been missed by the Lakers. Andrew Bynum is not fulfilling all the promise that he once had as a young prospect that was being tutored by Karim Abdul-Jabbar. He will need to play big Thursday against the Cavs if the Lakers have any hope of staying in this game.

Kobe Bryant lives for these types of games. While he has taken a smaller role in the offense this year by deferring many of his shots to open players, he will most certainly be ready to match LeBron shot for shot on Thursday night. Kobe always steps his game up in situation like this, and should have a tremendous game offensively, win or lose.

Check out this clash between the two best teams in the league as they fight for home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Related posts:

1. Lakers and Bulls Christmas Day Showdown
2. 2010 NBA Finals Re-Match: Lakers vs. Celtics
3. Lakers and Celtics Go To Battle in Game 1 of NBA Finals
4. Cavaliers Look to Maintain Home Court Advantage in Game 5
5. LeBron heads back to Cleveland to face Cavaliers

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