The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Washington Wizards at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.

The Wizards (9-48) were expected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA, and they've definitely lived up to those low expectations. They come into this road matchup amid a 12-game losing streak. That's hard to fathom, but things aren't going to get better anytime soon. What's sad is that we're seeing breakout seasons from Kyle Kuzma and Tyus Jones. Kuzma is averaging 22 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists, while Jones is handing out nearly 15 assists per game over the last three weeks. That's a great twosome to build around, but trading away Daniel Gafford really killed them down low. They've also gotten a nightmarish season from Jordan Poole, and it's hard to see where this franchise goes from here.

The Lakers (33-27) are one of the hottest teams in the league, but this is a tough spot for this team. This marks a back-to-back for Los Angeles and that';s always tough when you gave aging veterans like LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Both of those superstars need time off, and it remains to be seen if they'll be able to suit up here. In any case, the Lakers come into this matchup winning nine of their last 11 games. The win on Wednesday was one of the most remarkable of the season, overcoming a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers. That has pretty much earned them at least a Play-In berth, but this team desperately wants to finish sixth and avoid that tourney. They're 3.5 games behind the teams in fifth and sixth, which will be quite the hill since three other teams are ahead of them as well.

Los Angeles swept the season series over Washington last year and comes into this matchup winning three of their last four games over them in total.