Anthony Davis and Rajon Rondo will take the night off to rest as the Los Angeles Lakers take on the battered Golden State Warriors on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Lakers are coming off a hard-fought 123-115 win against the Phoenix Suns in Rondo’s season debut with the team. During the game, Davis went to the locker room for a short period of time after taking a hit to the ribs. Since Davis was already dealing with a sore shoulder, the Lakers thought it was best to hold him out of the Warriors game.
However, this is not like the Warriors games of the past few seasons where everyone had to be healthy and ready for the Lakers to even remain competitive. A team that had four All-Stars and future Hall-of-Famers just last season is now down to just D’Angelo Russell, Draymond Green, and a host of unrecognizable role players.
Stephen Curry is out for the foreseeable future, Klay Thompson is out for the season, and even Green has been in and out of the lineup with injury. So while there are no nights off in the NBA, the Lakers should be able to survive without Davis and Rondo.
For the Lakers, this game will be about doing their job and beating a team they’re easily supposed to beat. If Avery Bradley, Danny Green, Alex Caruso, and others can take care of Russell defensively, then there should be no issues stifling the Warriors.
The Warriors are currently in the middle of a four-game losing streak, something that was unheard of the past five seasons. However, it became very clear early on what this season would be for the Warriors. So while they will try to win games, four-game losing streaks might just be the norm for the 2019-20 NBA season.
The only bright spots for this season have been the continued progression of Russell, who scored a career-high 52 points in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves as well as the emergence of some of their role players like Eric Paschall.
This should be an easy night for the Lakers if they show up ready to do their jobs. They can’t allow Russell to go nuclear on them for 40-plus points, and they can’t allow ‘no-name’ role players to have career nights. If they do that, the Lakers may be in business for their ninth win of the season — even without Davis in the lineup.
Los Angeles Lakers (8-2) vs. Golden State Warriors (2-9)
7:00 P.M. PT, Nov. 13, 2019
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
TV: ESPN
Radio: 710 AM (ESPN), 1330 KWKW (Spanish)
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: Avery Bradley
SG: Danny Green
SF: LeBron James
PF: Kyle Kuzma
C: JaVale McGee
Key Reserves: Dwight Howard, Alex Caruso, Quinn Cook, Jared Dudley, Troy Daniels, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Projected Warriors Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Jordan Poole
SF: Glenn Robinson III
PF: Draymond Green
C: Willie Cauley-Stein
Key Reserves: Eric Paschall, Marquese Chriss, Ky Bowman, Alec Burks
