Tonight’s battle between the 53–9 Milwaukee Bucks and the 47–13 Los Angeles Lakers will be a showdown between the two teams with the best records in the league and a likely preview of this summer’s NBA Finals.
With the game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Lakers will be looking to avenge their earlier 111–104 loss to the Bucks in Milwaukee back in December 2019 and even the series between the teams at one game each. The game will not only pit the Lakers and Bucks in a battle to gain an advantage should they meet in the Finals but could also determine whether LeBron James or Giannis Antetokounmpo win league MVP honors.
There is no question the Lakers and Bucks rematch is the biggest game of the season. The Lakers and the Bucks both need to win this game and the outcome will dominate expectations as both teams head into the playoffs.
The Lakers don’t want to go into the Finals having lost to the Bucks twice including at home in the most recent game and the Bucks don’t want to go into the playoffs having lost their most recent matchup with the Lakers.
Keeping in mind what happened during the teams’ matchup in December 2019, here are the five things the Lakers need to do to win tonight:
The Lakers need to win this game against the Bucks and Sunday afternoon’s game against the Clippers to live up to their expectations. If they can do the above five things, there’s a good chance they will win the game going away.