Getty LeBron James jokes with Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The “Battle for L.A.” takes center stage as the NBA season kicks off, with the Lakers and Clippers facing off on Tuesday at Staples Center to tip off their expectation-laden seasons.
The game is scheduled to start at 10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on TNT. If you don’t have cable, you can watch the Lakers vs Clippers via one of the following live-TV streaming services:
TNT is one of 95-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports.
You can start a free seven-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Lakers vs Clippers on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
TNT is one of 60-plus live TV channels included with Hulu With Live TV, which also comes with Hulu’s huge on-demand streaming TV and movie library.
You can sign up for Hulu with Live TV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Lakers vs Clippers on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
TNT is included in Sling TV’s “Sling Blue” bundle, which comes with 40-plus live TV channels.
You can start a free seven-day trial of Sling TV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the Lakers vs Clippers on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, cloud DVR is available as an add-on.
Lakers vs Clippers Preview
Both the Lakers and Clippers reshaped their rosters in the offseason and now the Los Angeles squads find themselves as the top contenders for the NBA title.
After missing the playoffs and LeBron James being hampered by injury, the Lakers revved up their expectations by pulling off a trade for All-Star big man Anthony Davis.
And make no mistake — the expectations for the guys in the purple and gold is championship or bust.
“It’s pretty cool just to have all 15 guys just all have the same amount of urgency on what the task at hand is, which is winning a championship,” said center JaVale McGee. “It’s not to make the playoffs. It’s not to make it, win the first series in the playoffs. It’s to win a championship.”
James is ready to roll for his 17th NBA season.
“Opening night is great. For me, it’s like the first day of school,” James said. “I mean, I love to play the game and I obviously had the longest layoff of my career, so to be where I’m at physically (and) mentally no matter who we open up against … Tuesday (will be) a great day.”
The Clippers made a pair of blockbuster moves to become a contender, trading for former Oklahoma City star Paul George and signing prized free agent Kawhi Leonard, who was fresh off leading the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA title.
“My first time playing there, it was exciting,” Leonard said. “Forty-five minutes from my hometown, being able to see family for the first time since I’ve been drafted in a while, it was exciting.”
Neither team will be at full strength for the opener. The Lakers are missing starting forward Kyle Kuzma with a stress reaction in his left foot.
“Right now, we’re just talking about ramping up his activity, and we’re not going to look past two days from now,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “We’re going to try to increase his workload and activities this week, and we’ll see where we’re at.”
The Clippers will be without George, who still needs time to comeback from a offseason shoulder injury.
“I will be out of the preseason,” George told ESPN earlier this month. “As of now, I’ll be out of October fully, but who knows? We’ll see. In the November range is our target date.”