Lakers vs Blazers Expert Predictions Ahead of Monday Rematch

The Los Angeles Lakers will head to the Moda Center to square off against the Portland Trail Blazers for the second time just two weeks into the 2025-26 regular season.

But they might be doing it without ex-Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton, who missed LA's 130-120 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday night with back spasms. Those issues had knocked him out of the second half of the Lakers' 117-112 win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

More news: Lakers Players Taking Wild Approach to Motivate Deandre Ayton

Los Angeles will be looking to wreak its vengeance against an athletic, big, young Portland team that blew it out, 122-108, last week.

Ayton scored a solid-if-unspectacular 16 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, while grabbing eight rebounds, dishing out two dimes, swiping two steals and blocking one shot. His Trail Blazers counterpart, Donovan Clingan (who had been his backup in 2024-25 when Ayton was healthy), also chipped in 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor, 14 boards, two dimes, two blocks and a steal.

The Lakers have yet to release an injury report, but given that Ayton was a late scratch, it seems at least possible that Jaxson Hayes will get the starting nod yet again.

Here are our expert predictions.

Will Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves be Able to Get Beyond Their 'Dueling Banjos' Offense?

Alex Kirschenbaum: Reaves has looked like a burgeoning superstar — when Doncic has sat. Doncic, meanwhile, had been in the midst of a scoring clinic until a relatively inefficient game against the Heat.

But Reaves and Doncic haven't quite meshed together as an elite scoring tandem. Reaves has been a bit deferential to Doncic, which makes sense given that he's one of the best five basketball players alive. Reaves needs to be more assertive when playing alongside Doncic for this Lakers club to really soar. Against a stifling Portland defense on the second night of a back-to-back, that's not going to happen on Monday.

Will Jake LaRavia's Hot Streak Continue For a Fourth Game?

Alex Kirschenbaum: The sharpshooting combo forward, who turned 24 Monday, has averaged a whopping 21.7 points on 78.1 percent field goal shooting (66.7 percent 3-point shooting), 7.0 rebounds, and 2.7 steals a night. He's not going to necessarily approach that kind of prolific output against the likes of Toumani Camara, Jerami Grant and (maybe on switches) Jrue Holiday, but he'll still have an efficient scoring run — albeit a more modest one.

Can the Lakers Extend Their Win Streak to Four Games?

Ricardo Sandoval: The Los Angeles Lakers are off to a great start to the season, and more importantly, they're getting healthier. LA is expected to be a healthy bunch for their game on Monday, and as a result, they will get their revenge on the Blazers and remain undefeated on the road.

Lakers 107, Blazers 100.

Alex Kirschenbaum: Both Portland and Los Angeles are carrying three-game win streaks into this contest. The Trail Blazers walloped a Lakers team missing four critical pieces in LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Marcus Smart and Gabe Vincent. Centers Jaxson Hayes and Maxi Kleber, plus rookie Adou Thiero, also sat. Los Angeles will have Doncic and Smart available, although they could be reeling from the effects of having to play big minutes in back-to-back games. With or without Chauncey Billups, this is a hungry Portland team with a punishing defense. They're going to win again, and make a statement about their standing in the West by doing so.

Blazers 115, Lakers 102.

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