This week I will be discussing the basketball game between the Los Angelos Clippers and the Los Angelos Lakers. This game occurred on opening night, the first night of basketball in the new NBA season.

Here’s some background to this game to help you better understand the context and thus the importance of this game. Both of these teams have significantly improved their teams in the offseason. While the Clippers made the playoffs last year, they were not serious title contenders. The Lakers were even worse, as they could not even make the playoffs.

Then this summer, the Lakers traded for star power forward Anthony Davis, who was one of the most sought out players in recent history, to play alongside Lebron James. I’m sure many of you have heard Lebron’s name before, as he is without a doubt one of the best basketball players to ever play the game, and even though he is getting older (for the NBA that is), he is still one of the top players in the league today.

The Clippers, in a very unexpected and very surprising move, acquired two of the top players in the league in Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. These two are two of the best two way players in the game, meaning they are elite players on both offense and defense, making them extremely valuable assets to have for any team. Kawhi Leonard is coming off a season where he inarguably carried his former team, the Toronto Raptors, to win the NBA finals, earning his the title of Finals MVP.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj2jrL5pbTlAhVlhOAKHYlwBVoQjhx6BAgBEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D9MWjalhVh08&psig=AOvVaw3-XfXpKADZ9Yk5SR4TtybY&ust=1571985892734734

All of these moves resulted in these rivals from the same city to be considered by many to be the two best teams in the NBA. The large majority of fans are predicting either the Clippers or Lakers to win the NBA finals this year, meaning this game might be a preview to what we could be watching later in the year.

The game ended with the final score of Clippers 112 Lakers 102. While the Lakers jumped out to an early lead, Kawhi Leonard picked up near the end of the game, and led his team to the first victory of the season. While many other players contributed, this seemed to be entirely a matchup between Kawhi Leonard and the duo of Lebron James and Anthony Davis.

The Clippers came out on top this time following Kawhi’s 30 points, but this will definitely be a matchup to watch as the season progresses.

https://wtop.com/national/2019/10/leonard-leads-clippers-over-lebron-and-lakers-112-102/