Preview: Warriors head to L.A. to face Lakers in second preseason game

The Golden State Warriors successfully started their preseason with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers last week. That game was in the hallowed confines of the Chase Center in San Francisco; now the Lake Show gets a shot at payback in Staples Crypto.com Arena.

And this time they’ll have LeBron James ready after he missed the first contest. The Warriors have listed Jonathan Kuminga as questionable, while their guards Cory Joseph and Rodney McGruder will miss the contest. Draymond Green will be out as well.

Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers

October 13th, 2023 | 7:00 PM PT

Watch: ESPN, Spectrum Sportsnet | Listen: 95.7 The Game

Austin Reaves, Anthony Davis, and James all made ESPN’s top 100 list of the best players in the league. The Warriors had Kevon Looney, Chris Paul, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry made the list.

Now that’s a arbitrary list, but it gives you a hint as to how much star power this matchup contains. Throw in the fact that these teams had a contentious playoff series last year where the Lakers came out on top, and even in preseason this is a must see contest.

But this game has some extra intrigue as Golden State’s bench needs precious minutes to round into form. Kuminga (questionable) showed flashes of being a dominant player in the first contest, while Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, and Dario Saric are the kind of pieces that can absolutely come in and give impact minutes when their number is called.

This game will be taking place on Friday the 13th in the spooky month of October. What could be scarier than Kuminga getting busy despite his jammed thumb to give the Los Angeles crowd a spectacle of Halloween bucket full of dunks and blocks?