The Los Angeles Lakers are playing the brand of basketball that they expected coming into the season. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and are coming off of an emotional road trip that included wins over both of the teams that used to employ LeBron James in the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. Now they are back home, but the level of competition facing them is about to increase significantly. None of the Eastern Conference teams that the Lakers faced on the road were particularly skilled opponents, but tonight the Lakers will battle with the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz were the hottest team in the NBA in the second half of the 2017-18 season, but a combination of poor shooting from their own players and strong shooting from opponents has pushed them down the standings this year. Eventually, those numbers are all going to regress to the mean. The Jazz may have played over their heads a bit last year, but they are a playoff team that will push the Lakers tonight. Here are the starters both sides will use tonight.