Here is what you need to know before the Lakers battle the Clippers on Christmas Day.
1) The Lakers will be playing in their 42nd Christmas game, which ranks behind only New York (50). With a victory over their Staples Center co-tenants, the purple and gold will tie the Knicks for the league record with 22 victories on December 25.
2) Much of the reason for the Lakers filling their stocking with wins, has been — of course — Kobe Bryant, who will be playing in his final Christmas game. He has scored more points on this day (383) than any player in league history and will be making his record-extending 16th appearance. However, due to injuries, the 17-time all-star will be playing on this holiday for the first time since 2012.
3) The battle for Los Angeles has recently been a rough one for the Lakers, who have dropped seven straight to the Clippers. Prior to losing the season series in each of the past three years, the Lakers had given it away just twice.
4) Per usual, Chris Paul has been solid for the Clippers on both ends of the floor. He ranks fourth in the NBA in assists (9.0) and eighth in steals (2.04), while also providing 17.5 points per game.
5) Blake Griffin leads his team in scoring with 23.6 points per contest, which is also second among bigs and ninth overall.
6) DeAndre Jordan has putting up his usual burning-and-freezing percentages. The Houston native leads the NBA in field goal percentage (70.6), but is also blemished by the second-worst free throw clip (39.0 percent).
7) J.J. Redick has been stellar from beyond the arc, hitting at least three 3-pointers in each of his last six games. He has also been doing it efficiently, as his career-high 46.1 percent mark from deep ranks fourth in the league.
8) While Paul, Griffin, Jordan and Redick headline a starting unit that shoots the NBA’s third-best field goal percentage (49.0), the Clippers’ bench has been the polar opposite. They have struggled to get much production out of their reserves, whose 39.0 percent clip is the league’s second-worst.
9) Longtime Lakers rival Paul Pierce was brought in to help beef up that bench, but the 38-year-old has been experiencing his worst season, by far. The 2008 champion is averaging career-lows across the board, including in points (4.1) and field goal percentage (31.3).
10) The Lakers will be facing a familiar foe, as Wesley Johnson meets up with the purple and gold for the first time since joining their down-the-hall adversaries. Johnson spent both of the past two seasons with the Lakers and missed just nine games.
