The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on Friday.

The Trail Blazers (21-27) have three wins over their last four games and they're hopeful that it's the start of a big run. They find themselves a handful of games back of the Memphis Grizzlies in eighth, who currently sit at .500. There's one man that's getting them to this point and it's Damian Lillard. The superstar point guard is averaging nearly 50 points per game over his last four outings while flirting with triple-double averages in that span. That makes him the scariest player in the league right now and he'll surely want to show out in a place like Spales Center. That earned him an All-star appearance and he'll be needed again with Carmelo Anthony missing this game.

The Lakers (36-10) have yet to play this week and it's safe to say that this is going to be an intense environment. This is actually the first game for the Lakers in Staples Center since the passing of Kobe Bryant and that's going to make for an emotional scene. Many people say that Kobe built Staples Center into what it is today and the Lakers will surely be playing with heavy hearts in this fixture. They'll definitely want to put on a show for fans too and they're in good form to do just that. In fact, Los Angels enter this matchup winning 12 of their last 15 games. The thing that's really made them better is their defense, ranked sixth in points allowed. As long as that continues with LeBron James and Anthony Davis running the offense, this will be one of the favorites to land a championship this season.

These teams have played twice already this season, with Los Angeles winning both matchups. Prior to that, Portland won 17 of its previous 19 games over Los Angeles dating back to 2014.