The Los Angeles Lakers will begin the 2019 NBA preseason with higher expectations than ever as they take on the Golden State Warriors in the brand new Chase Center.
The Lakers and Warriors both underwent significant changes in the 2019 NBA offseason.
For the Lakers, Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and future draft picks were turned into Anthony Davis while role players like Danny Green, Avery Bradley, and Dwight Howard will likely play important roles for them The Lakers dealt with one of the league’s largest roster turnovers, putting them in real championship contention this season.
As for the Warriors, they saw a huge loss yield a pretty good return. When Kevin Durant verbally agreed to leave the Warriors for the Brooklyn Nets, they cashed in on an opportunity, conducting a sign-and-trade for D’Angelo Russell. While Klay Thompson will miss almost the entirety of the regular season, Russell, Stephen Curry, and Draymond Green should keep them afloat easily until he returns.
Shifting back to the Lakers, this game is hardly about the result of winning or losing, but rather starting to get a sense of lineups and what this team might look like on the court. Should James and Davis both play, they’ll both instantly be inserted into the starting lineup. Who ends up joining them is the question.
It will likely be Green at the shooting guard, who is already one of the most important players on this team. Then the point guard position could be taken by Bradley, Rajon Rondo, or even Alex Caruso. Then the center position will be somewhat of a flip of a coin between Howard and JaVale McGee.
Whatever the Lakers decide to do with regard to their lineup, their main focus on the court will be defense and as a side note, they will want to start figuring out what type of offense they want to implement.
The Warriors will need to figure out life without Thompson and Durant, the former being a temporary loss. Luckily, they still have three All-Star players to help ease the transition.
On the injury front, Kyle Kuzma should be the only major player out for the game as he is still dealing with a stress reaction in his left foot from Team USA.
For the Warriors, Willie Cauley-Stein and Kevon Looney may both be hurt and not playing while Thompson is obviously still recovering.
Los Angeles Lakers (0-0) vs. Golden State Warriors (0-0)
5:00 P.M. PT, Oct. 5, 2019
Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
TV: TNT, Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM (ESPN), 1330 KWKW (Spanish)
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: Avery Bradley
SG: Danny Green
SF: LeBron James
PF: Anthony Davis
C: JaVale McGee
Key Reserves: Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Alex Caruso
Projected Warriors Starting Lineup:
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: D’Angelo Russell
SF: Alfonzo McKinnie
PF: Draymond Green
C: Omari Spellman
Key Reserves: Alec Burks, Jacob Evans, Marquese Chriss
