The Washington Wizards head back to Crypto.com Arena for the second night in a row to take on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Game Info

Game Time: Sunday, December 18 at 9:30 p.m. ET

Where: Crypto.com Arena

How to watch: NBC Sports Washington

Injuries

WIZARDS— Will Barton, QUESTIONABLE (foot); Delon Wright, OUT (hamstring); Rui Hachimura, OUT (ankle); Bradley Beal, QUESTIONABLE (hamstring)

LAKERS— LeBron James, PROBABLE (ankle); Anthony Davis, OUT (foot); Wenyen Gabriel, QUESTIONABLE (shoulder); Juan Toscano-Anderson, OUT (ankle)

Pregame Notes

The Wizards’ West Coast road trip hasn’t yielded any wins just yet. Washington is now mired in a nine-game losing streak for the first time since they opened the 2012-13 season 0-9. They face off against a Lakers side with trade rumors run rampant involving the Wizards.

All signs point to the purple and gold showing interest in Bradley Beal should he become available and agree to waive his no-trade clause. Ex-Laker Kyle Kuzma has been a name floated around as a potential LA trade target for a while now.

Sunday night could be a showcase of sorts against the team showing keen interest in what talent Washington has to offer.

The Lakers come into the contest last in their division with a 12-16 record but have slowly trended upward over the past few weeks. They’re coming off a strong win over the Denver Nuggets and will surely come into the contest focused on getting a W against a spiraling Wizards squad.

Expect Kuzma to have a huge game in this one against the team that drafted him. He’s only played two games in his career against the Lakers thus far and has made the most of those opportunities. He’s averaging 24.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in two contests and should come out motivated as ever given that he’s breathing that California air he loves so much.

Looking ahead, it doesn’t get any easier with visits to Phoenix, Utah, and Sacramento coming up. With Anthony Davis out of the opposing lineup, can the Wizards escape LA with a win?