Lakers vs Warriors Preseason Preview and Game Thread: Pacific Division clash in Vegas
LeBron James, Steph Curry and Anthony Davis reunite in Las Vegas, but this time as competitors once again in a preseason showdown between the Lakers and Warriors.
The Lakers and Warriors will grace the entertainment capital of the world as they face off for the first time on Tuesday in Las Vegas. This will be the first of two times these two teams will see each other this week.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors
When: 7 p.m. PT, Oct 15
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Watch: NBA TV, Spectrum SportsNet
After earning their first win in the preseason against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Lakers look to continue building momentum ahead of the regular season, which starts exactly a week from Tuesday.
Given that the Lakers and Warriors will face off four times in the regular season — including once on Christmas Day — Tuesday’s game will be the perfect opportunity to see how the purple and gold match up against this new look Warriors team.
The Warriors are always an interesting opponent to serve as a measuring stick because they play a particular brand of basketball that requires a certain type of defensive scheme to beat them. This will be the first time we’re going to see how JJ Redick and his staff game plan against Stephen Curry and the ever-fascinating motion offense of the Warriors.
Yes, I know, it’s preseason, but it’s LeBron James, Steph Curry, Anthony Davis and Draymond Green in Las Vegas, so it’s fair to think that they’ll put on a show, at least for the first two quarters.
The Dubs seem to be taking their preseason seriously as they’ve swept their first four games. They’re shooting 40% from the 3-point line in the preseason, which has come from their well-crafted actions on offense. The question heading to this game is how will Los Angeles contain the Warriors’ offense and whether or not their own offense is good enough to keep up.
After all, Redick said that he wants the Lakers to shoot more threes and play through a systematic motion offense. So, seeing the purple and gold beat the Warriors at their own game would be ideal.
It’ll also be nice to see more progress on the Lakers’ side, especially on the rebounding department, where they struggled immensely last season, and on defense. Again, it’s preseason, but the early returns are encouraging as the Lakers rank seventh in the league in rebounds after three games. Hopefully this an early trend we see carry over in the regular season.
Lastly, aside from watching the superstars perform, this game is an opportunity for the young guns on the team to ball out again. How will Dalton Knecht keep up defensively against a heavy-motion offense? Can Quincy Olivari put on a show for the second straight game? Can Jalen Hood-Schifino prove that he’s worth taking a shot at for the parent team? Can Bronny James finally have a decent game after a slow start?
We’ll get the answers to all of these queries after Tuesday’s game in Las Vegas.
Notes and Updates
- Jarred Vanderbilt (foot surgery), Christian Wood (knee surgery) and Christian Koloko (not cleared by NBA protocols) will all likely sit out for this game.
- Austin Reaves (sore ankle) was held out in Thursday’s win over the Bucks and his status remains up in the air again for this one as he’s considered as day-to-day.
- Andrew Wiggins (ilness), Draymond Green (rest), Stephen Curry (finger) didn’t suit up in their last preseason game against the Detroit Pistons. According to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk, Wiggins is expected to play against the Lakers. There’s no word yet about Green and Curry’s status.
- We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.