The Lakers open their season in Golden State against the Warriors, who will collect their 2021-22 rings before the game. The pregame show airs on Spectrum SportsNet at 6 p.m., while the game is on TNT and 710 ESPN Radio.
Below are three things to know ahead of the matchup:
INJURY REPORT
The injury report ahead of the opener is more full than the Lakers would like:
OUT
- Troy Brown Jr. (low back soreness)
- Thomas Bryant (left thumb sprain)
- Dennis Schröder (right UCL repair)
PROBABLE
- Anthony Davis (low back soreness)
- LeBron James (left foot soreness)
- Russell Westbrook (left hamstring soreness)
Bryant was a late addition to the injury report, after he played in all six preseason games, and of the true centers, had the better of the plus/minus with a +7.4 net rating in 13.3 minutes per game, relative to Damian Jones, who was a -19.4 in 11.1 minutes per game.
For the Warriors, it’s a largely healthy group, with all of their expected starters and rotation players available. Andre Iguodala is inactive (left hip injury management), while Patrick Baldwin Jr. is questionable with a right thumb sprain.
LEBRON AND AD
If the Lakers are going to find a way to beat the Warriors, it’s going to come despite a big gap in continuity, both from the coaching staff/system and the players themselves. Not only do the Lakers have a new staff and mostly-new players on the roster, but they didn’t get to play together much in the preseason.
What they do have: LeBron and AD, both of whom know the Warriors very well. Darvin Ham opted not to reveal his starting lineup, but all signs have pointed to AD being at the five, and LeBron the four on defense, plus three perimeter players. After Monday’s practice, LeBron took a 30,000-foot view:
“It’s the beginning of a marathon,” he said of the opener. “We want to try and get better through the season, for sure. Just playing how we want to play. Play hard, play smart, have fun. Live with the results.”
Davis, meanwhile, is ready to roll.
“Very excited, it begins,” he said. “Had a great practice yesterday, some touch ups today. We’re fully prepared to try and go up and get a W … I think competing both ends of the floor, but mainly defensively (is the key). It’s always good to spoil a ring night, so our mindset is to start the season with a couple W’s.”
DEFENDING THE WARRIORS
Over the course of many seasons, Warriors coach Steve Kerr has built a system to optimize the talent on his roster, which has featured Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, and their all-time great shooting. Add reserve Jordan Poole to the mix, and the threat of perimeter shot-making is such that teams haven’t typically been able to stay in base coverages.
With Ham coming over from Milwaukee and Coach Mike Budenholzer’s system, many expect a typical drop coverage throughout the season, in which the big man drops back into the paint to protect the rim, as opposed to switching out onto the perimeter. But against the Warriors, that isn’t always possible.
“I think we’re probably going to switch up our base coverage,” said Davis. “I don’t want to tell you too much … but the coverage might be a little bit different tomorrow.”
Last season, Klay had two of his better games of the season against the Lakers in San Francisco, scoring 33 points both times, sinking 11 total 3’s, in front of his father Mychal, the long-time radio analyst for L.A. The Warriors won both games, as they typically do when Thompson goes off.