Lakers Open Home NBA Cup Slate vs. Blazers After 0-1 Start in West Group C

The Los Angeles Lakers have three NBA Cup group games left, and they can't drop many more. The Lakers opened the 2026 tournament with a 112-95 loss at Golden State on Oct. 30. Friday's home game against Portland is their second of four in West Group C, and the season record says it is also a meeting of the top two teams in the Western Conference.

ESPN's tournament guide lays out how this year's Cup works. Group play runs on Fridays from Oct. 30 through Nov. 27, plus Cup nights during Thanksgiving week. Each six-team conference bracket sends three group winners and one wild card to the knockout round. A change this year: the quarterfinals (Dec. 4-5) and semifinals are both played at home sites, and the Dec. 11 final moves from Las Vegas to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Lakers share West Group C with San Antonio, Portland, Golden State and Sacramento. After Friday, they host the Kings on Nov. 20 and close at San Antonio on Nov. 27.

The opener against Golden State still stings. ESPN's Dave McMenamin noted that the Lakers led 23 points after one quarter, behind 21 first-quarter points from Luka Doncic. Stephen Curry then took over with 31 points, and the Warriors' bench outscored the Lakers' reserves 47-7. In a group stage where one loss can decide the wild card, a second defeat would leave the Lakers needing help from other results.

What it means for Friday against Portland

The Lakers have recovered since that night in San Francisco. They are 7-2 and have won three straight: 131-125 over Toronto, 138-117 over Miami and 116-103 at Sacramento on Wednesday. They are 4-1 at Crypto.com Arena. Their only home loss came against these Blazers, 136-129 in October, one of just two Portland defeats the Lakers have suffered in the standings this season. According to ESPN's game preview, Portland arrives at 6-1 and is 5-0 on the road. It will be short-handed, with Shaedon Sharpe (meniscus), Vit Krejci (ankle) and Ja Morant (hamstring) listed out. The Lakers list Adou Thiero (knee) as out.

The game board has the Lakers favored across 12 venues. On Novig, the Lakers are -144 to win outright and Portland is +141. The spread is 3.5 points. Novig prices the Lakers at +104 to cover -3.5, while the best Lakers number anywhere is Pinnacle's -106 at -3, half a point shorter. The total has dropped sharply. ESPN's preview listed 238.5 earlier in the week, and it now sits at 231.5 on Novig, where the over is +104 and the under is -106. Pinnacle has the best over at -107 on 231, and Hard Rock Bet has the best under at -105 on 231.5. Sportsbook hold runs from about 2.4% to 5.4% across the markets, so the gaps between venues come down to a few cents and a half point on the line.

The Lakers have scored 125 or more in six of their nine games. The falling total suggests the market expects a slower game than October's 265-point meeting, perhaps because Portland is missing three rotation players. For the Lakers, though, Friday comes down to the Cup table. A win evens them at 1-1 in the group with two games left. A loss to the West leaders at home would make the Nov. 27 trip to San Antonio close to a must-win.

For more on the season so far, see our Lakers team page.