The Los Angeles Lakers host the Milwaukee Bucks, who continue their West Coast road trip. Check out our preview of this matchup below. 

Catch this game live on Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 11:30 AM, Manila time

Away: Milwaukee Bucks (16-21, 7-12 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Kevin Porter Jr.
  • Ryan Rollins
  • AJ Green
  • Giannis Antetokounmpo
  • Myles Turner

Now that Giannis Antetokounmpo has finally categorically denied that he wants to be traded, maybe that will give Milwaukee a huge spark — at least for this matchup against the Lakers. The Bucks are coming off a 120-113 loss to Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on the road on Thursday, but they have played generally well of late. 

But while they have won four of their last six outings, all those victories were against teams not over the .500 mark. Nevertheless, Antetokounmpo’s presence alone makes Milwaukee a force to reckon with. 

What the Bucks need is for the others to step up. In their 119-95 loss to LA at home back in November, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player had 32 points on 9/15 shooting and 10 boards, but fellow starters Kyle Kuzma and Myles Turner were big letdowns, coughing up just 3 points and 1 point, respectively. 

Rising star Ryan Rollins also struggled in that LA game, putting up 10 points on 4/11 shooting. Milwaukee hopes that it will be a different story this time around for Turner, Kuzma and Rollins.

Home: Los Angeles Lakers (23-12, 10-6  Home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Luka Doncic
  • Marcus Smart
  • Jake LaRavia
  • LeBron James
  • Deandre Ayton

Luka Doncic had 38 points in Thursday’s meeting with the San Antonio Spurs on the road, but his scoring outburst went to waste, a the Lakers suffered a 107-91 defeat at the hands of Victor Wembanyama and company.

 Before that, the Lakers had a three-game winning streak going for them, so it’s back to trying to recapture their form again when they go up against Milwaukee. 

In the November victory against the Bucks, Doncic had a night for himself, as he put the Lakers on his back and scored 41 points on 9/19 shooting from the field and 18/20 from the foul line. That was also before LeBron James made his season debut, and now, the four-time NBA MVP is expected to suit up in the rematch against the Bucks after sitting out the Spurs game for rest purposes (or for simply being old). 

At 41, James can still be a handful to deal with for Milwaukee, as the future Basketball Hall of Famer has averaged 26.0 points on 52.9 percent shooting in his last five appearances.

Picks

Spread: Los Angeles Lakers (-2.5)
Over/Under: Under (231.5)