The Portland Trail Blazers play host to the Los Angeles Lakers at Moda Center on Friday.

The Lakers (19-3) had some high hopes coming into the season and the hopes may not have been high enough. This team has exceeded every expectation possible, as this is the best start of LeBron James' historic career. What he's doing is truly amazing, leading the league in assists in his 18th season in the NBA. That pairs beautifully with Anthony Davis leading the league in blocks and it's scary to think that these guys also combine for over 50 points and 20 rebounds apiece as well. It's not just those two running the show though, as they've gotten resurgent seasons from players like Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard. Those two have given this team a nice bench presence while additions like Danny Green and Avery Bradley have made the defense drastically better too.

The Trail Blazers (9-13) come into this matchup winning four of their last five games, with the only defeat coming on the road against a dominant Los Angeles Clippers squad. This is the team that we expected to see all season but a 4-12 start has really put them in quite the hole. The direct correlation with the recent success is the addition of Carmelo Anthony. While he's not quite the superstar player he once was, Melo gives this team some much needed depth at the forward position. He's actually averaging 16.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, which is all you could hope for from a guy who's only played a handful of games in the past two years. If they can keep him playing at that level while getting superstar performances from guys like Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and Hassan Whiteside, look for this team to continue to win ballgames.

Portland has absolutely owned Los Angeles over recent years, winning 17 of its last 19 games against them dating back six seasons.