Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers on Friday night.
Warriors at LakersFriday, November 47:30 p.m.Staples Center
TV: CSN, ESPN
RADIO: 95.7 The Game, Warriors Mobile App
CITY OF ANGELS
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers on Friday night. This will be the first of four meetings between the two teams this season, and the first of three to be played in November. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Watch the action on Comcast SportsNet and ESPN, or listen to the call on 95.7 The Game or the Warriors Mobile App.
LAST TIME OUT
Kevin Durant had the hot hand and led the Dubs to a 122-96 victory over the Thunder on Thursdayat Oracle Arena. The first-year Warriors forward put up a season-high 39 points on 15-of-24 shooting, matching a career-high with seven 3-pointers in just 31 minutes of action. Full Recap
MATCHUP AT A GLANCE
GSW
4-1
T-1st in West
115.4 PPG (1st)
43.8 RPG (16th)
29.2 APG (1st)
LAL
2-3
T-9th in West
107.2 PPG (9th)
41.6 RPG (22nd)
19.0 APG (22nd)
PROJECTED STARTERS
GSW: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Zaza Pachulia
LAL: D'Angelo Russell, Nick Young, Luol Deng, Julius Randle and Ivica Zubac
INJURY & ROSTER NOTES
GSW: Patrick McCaw (sprained left ankle) is doubtful. Damian Jones (right pectoral surgery) is out. Team Notes
LAL: Brandon Ingram (tendinitis, right knee) is probable. Timofey Mozgov
(left eye contusion) is questionable. Team Notes
RETAINING POSSESSION
As the Warriors were reminded on Tuesday, good things happen when you rebound and take care of the ball. Golden State’s runaway victory in Portland came on a night in which the Warriors won the turnover and rebounding battles, both for the first time this season. It’s pretty simple. The better the Warriors rebound, the more possessions they will get, and the better they value those possessions, the more opportunities they’ll have to turn those possessions into points. Now, granted, the rebounding and turnover battles are both inherently linked to the quality of defense played, and certainly, the Warriors came through with their best defensive effort of the young season in that same game. They’re not always going to shoot the lights out, but when they win the possession battle and play great defense, they give themselves a great chance to win, regardless.
TEAM LEADERS
GSW
PTS: Durant (30.6)
REB: Green (10.8)
AST: Green (7.2)
LAL
PTS: Russell (16.6)
REB: Randle (7.2)
AST: Russell (4.8)
LOS ANGELES SCOUTING REPORT
For so many years, it was the Lakers, not the Warriors, who were considered perennial favorites to make it out of the West, but lately, that hasn’t been the case. Coming off the two worst seasons in franchise history, Los Angeles took a page out of Golden State’s book when they hired Luke Walton as head coach this past offseason. Steve Kerr’s old assistant is now the lead man in L.A., tasked with rebuilding the Lakers’ identity, now that future Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant has retired. Walton has a nice stable of young talent to build upon, and the combination of D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson gives them one of the better and more dynamic backcourts in the entire league. With Golden State playing on the second night of a back-to-back, look for the young Lakers to try to take advantage of the more senior Warriors’ fatigue by pushing the pace of play. The Dubs, however, are quite comfortable playing in that sort of frenetic style, so it’s a potential strategy that runs the risk of backfiring.