Clippers vs. Lakers 2016 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and how to watch online

The NBA on Christmas day is capped off by a crosstown rivalry between Los Angeles’ Lakers and Clippers. Southern California’s balance of power will be televised nationally at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and is available for live stream using WatchESPN.

Injury seems to be the theme for a Clippers team that was bounced from the first round of the playoffs last season when both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin exited Los Angeles’ quarterfinals series against Portland. Paul (strained left hamstring) is questionable for the Clippers’ Christmas Day game, while Griffin is out with a knee injury. They enter Christmas (22-9) having won six of their last eight games.

The Lakers, in the post-Kobe Bryant era, have shown promising flashes of what the future could be. Behind a dynamic duo of young guards (D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson), an uber-athletic front court (Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr.) and a highly touted prospect with star potential (Brandon Ingram), new head coach Luke Walton has a roster to work with in Los Angeles. The Lakers enter Christmas having lost 11 of their last 12 games.

Tip-Off: 10:30 p.m. EST
Channel: TWSN, ESPN
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA

The Clippers have been the dominant team in Los Angeles ever since Chris Paul was shipped over in a trade. They’ve rattled off 11 consecutive wins over the past three seasons and have won 15 of their last 16 games against the storied franchise.

But the Clippers will be playing shorthanded, and the Lakers are a young team on the rise. They could change everything on Christmas.

It’s been a long time coming for a Clippers team that blew a 3-1 lead over the Houston Rockets, only to be ravaged by injuries in the following playoff’s opening round. The Warriors will always be in the way, but Paul’s Clippers want their shot at Cleveland for an NBA championship. As long as these key injuries prove minor, fans might get the Clips-Dubs matchup they’ve been waiting for.

The 11-22 Lakers aren’t contending this season. That’s a given. But they’re a team that, until recently, was overperforming and chasing for a low seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

Kobe Bryant is gone — he’s retired as one of the greatest players the franchise has ever seen. But the Lakers have their pick of a selection of young players to build around for the future. They may not have the Clippers’ number this season, but Walton has proven to be a good coach. And some time down the road, the Lakers will return to the prominence they were once accustomed to as THE team in Los Angeles.