The Los Angeles Lakers will look to get back on their feet after a recent stumble when they make a trip north of the border to lock horns with a Toronto Raptors squad that’s eager to make a big statement with a win over the visiting Purple & Gold.

Catch this game live on Friday, December 5, 2025 at  8:30 AM, Manila time

Away: Los Angeles Lakers (15-5, 8-2 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Luka Doncic (out) / Gabe Vincent
  • Austin Reaves
  • Rui Hachimura
  • LeBron James
  • Deandre Ayton

After winning seven games in a row, the Lakers finally cooled off on Tuesday, as they lost to Dillon Brooks and the Phoenix Suns at home, 125-108. Ball security was a huge problem for the Lakers in that game, particularly for Luka Doncic, who scored 38 points but turned the leather over nine times – the Slovenian superstar will be out tomorrow due to personal reasons.

As a team, Los Angeles committed 22 turnovers that became 32 points for Phoenix. It was an ugly loss for Doncic and the Lakers, but it was also just a blip on the radar of their otherwise solid season thus far. 

The Lakers are thriving with Doncic at the helm of their attack, but with him out, Austin Reaves and LeBron James are up for a big workload, alongside Rui Hachimura, Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht, and Marcus Smart. Reaves has raised his game again and is scoring 28.1 points per game this season.

It’s also getting more difficult to ignore what Deandre Ayton is bringing to the table for LA. Ayton consistently provides the Lakers with efficient scoring, solid rebounding and presence in the middle.

Home: Toronto Raptors (15-7, 8-2 Home) 

Projected Starting Five:

  • Immanuel Quickley
  • Brandon Ingram
  • Ja’Kobe Walter
  • Scottie Barnes
  • Jakob Poeltl

Change appears to be happening for the Raptors. There seems to be no team rising Toronto squad is intimidated to face, as the Raps have zoomed the the second spot in the Eastern Conference standings. 

Following back-to-back losses to the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks on the road, the Raptors went back home and took down the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, 121-118. That was a nice pick-me-up win that sets up Toronto for a marquee home game versus the visiting Lakers. 

Toronto is still missing leading scorer RJ Barrett, who’s been sidelined for the last five Raptors games due to a knee issue, though they have gone 3-2 straight up in his absence. That includes a statement 110-99 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last week. 

The trio of Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley can be a handful to deal with for the Lakers, who will also be facing Toronto’s stout defense that is allowing just 113.1 points per game and posting a defensive 53.0 eFG%.

Picks

Spread: Toronto Raptors (+1.5)
Over/Under: Under (229.5)