The Lakers continue their 2022-23 preseason with a Sunday evening game against Golden State at the Chase Center. The game tips at 5:30 p.m on Spectrum SportsNet and NBA TV.
Below are three things to know ahead of the matchup:
FAST STARTS CONTINUE
For the third straight preseason game, the Lakers got off to a good start, despite using a third different starting lineup as several veterans rested against Minnesota on Thursday evening in Las Vegas. A young group featuring Austin Reaves, Max Christie, Wenyen Gabriel, Thomas Bryant and Scotty Pippen Jr. opened a 17-8 lead on the Wolves, who played all their regular starters except Karl Anthony-Towns.
Minnesota’s veteran bench managed to flip the script in the second quarter as Darvin Ham went deeper into his bench, and L.A. shot just 27.3 percent in the period to relinquish a lead that they wouldn’t get back.
Nonetheless, Ham was pleased with the continuation of energy and commitment that’s been a staple thus far, even as groups that certainly won’t play together in the regular season struggled as the game went on.
“A good start to the first quarter defensively, guys playing together,” said Ham. “I thought some of our reserves set a really good tone, and as (Minnesota) started to get more in our jersey, being aggressive in their pick-and-roll coverage, I thought we started to … over dribble and over create.”
MAX CHRISTIE’S GROWTH
L.A.’s No. 34 overall pick in the 2022 Draft, Max Christie, is just 19 years old, but that hasn’t kept Darvin Ham from throwing him on the floor for a lot of minutes in the first three games. In fact, Christie currently leads all Lakers with 25.1 minutes per game thus far.
“All in all, I like the progress that the kid is making,” said Ham. “He has a lot of coaches and a lot of people on our performance team, and me personally, excited about this future. He’s a hard worker, great kid, great attitude, good focus; I think. He’s going to really, really do well and have a long career.”
Christie hasn’t shot the ball well thus far, shooting 28.0 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from three, but he’s defended his position and helped off the ball, rebounded well (4.3 per game) and competed consistently hard.
“He’s really improved his body; he was rail thin when we first got him, and now you’re starting to see a little bit of muscle mass,” Ham continued. “Kid has great touch, really athletic, one of the better athletes on the roster, and he just has to keep working. Just the little, simple nuances of the game.”
WARRIORS TEST DRIVE
The regular season opener comes in just nine days in the same building as this preseason game, so we’ll see just how much Ham and GSW coach Steve Kerr show each other on Sunday. For the defending champions, questions remain about Draymond Green’s availability for the opener after Green punched teammate Jordan Poole in a recent GSW practice.
No suspension has been announced at this point, but Green said on Saturday that he will take some time away from the team, meaning he won’t be in attendance for this preseason contest.
Klay Thompson will also be absent, as he attends to a personal matter, leaving Steph Curry as the primary holdover from the NBA Finals battles against LeBron James.
For the Lakers, Dennis Schröder won’t be with the team on Sunday, but he’s expected to be with the team in Los Angeles when they return on Monday. Juan Toscano-Anderson suffered a thigh contusion on Thursday and didn’t practice on Saturday, while Troy Brown Jr. (back) remains out.