Preview: Wizards look to keep their swagger against the Lakers

Oh how the tide has turned.

When was the last time the Washington Wizards were faring better than the Los Angeles Lakers?

Forget living in the past, the former is rising while the latter is falling. For a team that was

When and where? Sorry East Coasters, this game is at 10:30 p.m. EST, broadcasting on CSN Washington from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Who's out? Again, knock on wood, the Wiz remain injury free. Unfortunately, Kobe Bryant is out (sorry, I'm a huge fan of his!) for the Lakers, as is Tarik Black. Nick Young and Ronnie Price are both day to day for L.A., too. UPDATE:Nick Young is getting an MRI, which probably means he won't be in action tonight. UPDATE II: John Wall and Paul Pierce both missed this morning's shootaround and are questionable for tonight's game.

Are they good? Nah. At 12-33, they are on an eight game losing streak and have only won one game in their past 10 tries. They are also a sad 6-16 at home ... and without Kobe for likely the rest of the season, the losses are going to continue to pile up. Should Nick Young play today, he will be one of only two starting Lakers players who average double digits in points, with 14.4 ppg - center Jordan Hill is the other, with 12.3 ppg.

The last time three times the Lakers have played the Wizards, they have given up an average of 114.7 points per game, including an 111-95 loss in D.C. in December in which they shot 38.8 percent from the field.

WallStar? Wall was in a bit of a shooting slump. Before the road swing, Wall was averaging just 13.3 points on 36.6 percent shooting. In the first two games of the four-game road swing out west, Wall has combined for 44 points on 18-of-33 shooting that included a beautiful 19 point, 16 assist outing on Sunday in Denver. In his career against the Lakers on the road, Wall has averaged 24.7 points and 14.7 assists per game while shooting 50 percent from the field. NOT BAD. Tonight, Optimus Dime will lead the squad to go for the season sweep against the Lakers and help bump the team to 13-9 on the road.

Beal With It? In December's matchup with L.A., Beal had 27 points - part of the 45 he has totaled in the last two matchups with the Lakers. Beal, who has been in sort of a shooting slump lately - aka taking poor shots and poor times - will be matched up against Kobe's backup, Wayne Ellington. Hopefully, he takes advantage of this mismatch and gets his swag back.

Who wins? Read this tweet and tell us what you think.

Nick Young on what the Lakers must do without Kobe: "Pretty much just give me the ball and get out of the way."

— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) January 26, 2015