The Golden State Warriors will take on the Los Angeles Lakers for their first preseason game of the year. The game will be played at 5:30 PM PT in San Francisco and can be watched on NBA TV and NBC Sports Bay Area.
The story coming into the Warriors’ first preseason game will be the debut of their big offseason trade acquisition, point guard Chris Paul. The future hall of famer is entering his 19th season in the NBA, joining forces with a Warriors team he considered to be his rival throughout a majority of his career.
All eyes will be on how well the Warriors can incorporate Paul’s pick-and-roll mastery with the low-usage motion offense that has made Golden State so unstoppable throughout their dynasty run. Early reports from training camp have been positive, however, with Stephen Curry going as far as to say that the offensive fit with Paul has been “seamless”.
Paul enters the starting lineup as Warriors’ power forward Draymond Green nurses a sprained ankle that he suffered prior to training camp. It remains to be seen how long Green will be out, but he did not seem concerned when talking to reporters during his media day availability.
In the meantime, Green’s absence gives Golden State the perfect opportunity to get Paul acclimated with the rest of the team’s starters as the starting lineup will be a big topic of conversation heading into the regular season.
Injury Report:
Warriors Inactive: Draymond Green (left ankle sprain), Rodney McGruder (concussion), Cory Joseph (lower back strain)
Lakers Inactive: LeBron James (foot), Austin Reaves (rest)
Projected Starters:
Warriors: Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson, Kevon Looney
Lakers: D’Angelo Russell, Max Christie, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Anthony Davis.
