Less than two days after flying home from their doubleheader in China, the Los Angeles Lakers will be back in action in their first game at Staples Center taking on the Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers dropped to 1-2 after back-to-back losses to the Brooklyn Nets in China. A trip that was filled with questions about the NBA and China’s sputtering relationship did not garner any wins for the Lakers and it may have done much more harm than good.
The worst news from the trip is that Anthony Davis sprained his right thumb. Fortunately, the MRI reportedly returned clean since.
With Davis not playing, he’ll join a long list of Lakers that will not be playing in this Warriors matchup. LeBron James, Quinn Cook, Jared Dudley, Talen Horton-Tucker, Troy Daniels, and Kyle Kuzma have all already been ruled out.
The preseason is largely meant for James and Davis to build on-court chemistry while also getting a sense of where the role players are at.
The Warriors will also be playing a bit of the load management game as well. They’ve already announced Marquese Chriss will be in the starting lineup and that a few major players will be resting to accommodate the team’s return from China.
This makes sense as there’s no point in the Warriors rolling out their All-Star starting lineup if there’s no one good for them to play.
The two teams will still meet another two times this week before the 2019-20 NBA season actually begins on Oct. 22, so there will be plenty of opportunities to see the Lakers and Warriors play at least close to full strength.
Los Angeles Lakers (1-2) vs. Golden State Warriors (1-1)
7:30 P.M. PT, Oct. 14, 2019
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
TV: NBATV, Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM (ESPN), 1330 KWKW (Spanish)
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: Alex Caruso
SG: Zach Norvell Jr.
SF: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
PF: Jared Dudley
C: Dwight Howard
Key Reserves: JaVale McGee, Quinn Cook, Kostas Antetokounmpo
Projected Warriors Starting Lineup:
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Jordan Poole
SF: Glenn Robinson III
PF: Marquese Chriss
C: Eric Paschall
Key Reserves: Jacob Evans, Eric Paschall, Damion Lee