The Lakers are once again handicapped on the preseason run as their star player, Luka Doncic, has been sidelined for the game against the Warriors. According to JJ Redick, the Lakers decided at the last minute to pull the plug on Doncic’s preseason debut due to what seemed to be load management concerns.
The Lakers also decided against Marcus Smart’s preseason debut despite the Lakers’ head coach confirming yesterday that he would play. The former Celtics veteran has been dealing with an Achilles tendinopathy himself.
Redick admitted that he misspoke about Smart, and the plan is now to use both Smart and Doncic in at least two of the remaining three preseason games for the Lakers. The 26-year-old star Doncic is now going to miss the third game in a row of the preseason run as the Lakers had an 0-2 start without him.
He will likely suit up against his former team as the Lakers face the Mavericks on Wednesday, October 15. The Lakers’ starting five against the Warriors is expected to be Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, and DeAndre Ayton.
Assessing The Warriors’ Injury Update Before Lakers Game
The Warriors are also expected to be handicapped in the game against the Lakers, but they are not missing someone as key as Doncic. Moses Moody, who was the Warriors’ highest scorer in their last game against the Lakers with 19 points, is also not going to play in the remaining three games of the preseason for the Warriors.
The 23-year-old Warriors starlet has reportedly aggravated his left calf issue and is expected to miss the remainder of the preseason. However, the Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr, plans to have him back for the season opener and is “not too concerned” about Moody. With Moody out, the Warriors’ starting five against the Lakers is Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, and Quinten Post.
Considering that the Lakers are so shorthanded tonight, we do not expect to see the Warriors bring out their star players, Jimmy Butler or Stephen Curry, either. Therefore, a very toned-down version of the fixture we expect to see on the opening night of the regular season.
For the first time in his career, LeBron James is set to miss a season-opener as he is expected to be out for the next three to four weeks due to the nerve irritation in his sciatica. NBA fans need to brace themselves for such games, as they could soon see the Lakers and Warriors without the aging star names on their roster, like James or Curry.
