Warriors vs Lakers Preview: Dubs get second preseason look at LeBron James’ new team

Game information

Who: Golden State Warriors (1-3) vs Los Angeles Lakers (2-3)

When: 7:30PM PST on Friday, October 12th, 2018

Where: SAP Center, San Jose, California

How to watch: ESPN2

How to listen: 95.7 The Game

Injuries

Warriors: Draymond Green (sore left knee) day-to-day, DeMarcus Cousins out.

Lakers: No injured players.

Previous meetings

Just two days ago in Sin City, the Warriors succumbed to the energy of the Lakers and their new king, losing 113-123 in an up-and-down affair.

Coach Steve Kerr felt the Warriors may have mismanaged their energy in the first half of this game:

Prior to their first preseason meeting of 2018, the Warriors had a seven game regular season win streak against the Lakers, though the young Lakers took the Warriors to overtime twice last season.

Potential lineups

Warriors: Stephen Curry (point guard), Klay Thompson (shooting guard), Kevin Durant (small forward), Jordan Bell (power forward), Damion Jones (center).

Lakers: Rajon Rondo (point guard), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (shooting guard), LeBron James (small forward), Brandon Ingram (power forward), JaVale McGee (center).

Key Matchups

Even though it’s still just the preseason, one can’t help but think that Kevin Durant and LeBron James, as two of the best players in the world, are still inclined to not want to give an inch to the other on the court and gain any possible psychological edge to use in the regular season and playoffs.

Brandon Ingram had a solid game against the Warriors on Wednesday, going +11 with 26 points, 5 rebounds, an assist and steal in 26 minutes.

Ingram shooting 15 of 17 from the charity stripe is indicative of his ability to capitalize on aggressive play, and it will be up to Jordan Bell, Kevon Looney and Durant to do a better job of slowing him down tonight.

Steph Curry and Klay Thompson will try to improve on their 23 and 20 point respective performances against Los Angeles earlier this week.

Though James downplayed any potential rivalry between the Warriors and Lakers, one can’t help but wonder if the Splash Brothers might better understand the potential of the Bay vs LA animosity being catalyzed by James’ presence and this new-look showtime squad.

Don’t be surprised if Curry and Thompson put in a special effort in San Jose to remind the team from Hollywood about who is king in the Pacific Division.