Warriors visit Lakers on opening night with Curry day-to-day and Butler out
The Warriors open the season at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night, two weeks after beating the Lakers twice in the preseason. Both teams come in shorthanded, with Stephen Curry listed as day-to-day and Jimmy Butler III out for Golden State.
By the Hoops Nightly Desk · updated 15 h ago01The story of the nightStakes and formBoth teams are 0-0, so this is the first real result for either side.
Both teams are 0-0, so this is the first real result for either side. The preseason gave the Warriors the better look. They beat the Lakers 124-98 in San Francisco on October 6 and again 101-89 in Los Angeles on October 13, and closed the exhibition slate 4-1 with a 128-118 win over Portland. The Lakers went 2-3, dropping their last two to Golden State and Denver. Last season the Lakers took three of four meetings, including a 129-101 win in February and a 119-103 win in April. Neither team is on a back-to-back. The Warriors expected five is built on last season's minutes, which puts Curry, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, De'Anthony Melton and Brandon Williams in the likely group before injuries are accounted for.
02Who is in and who is outGolden State's injury report is long.
Golden State's injury report is long. Jimmy Butler III is out with a right knee issue, Kristaps Porzingis is out with an undisclosed injury, Moses Moody is out with a left knee issue and Brandin Podziemski is out with a back injury. Stephen Curry is day-to-day with a right ankle issue, and Charles Bassey is day-to-day with a knee issue. For the Lakers, Collin Sexton is day-to-day with a right calf issue, while Cameron Carr is out with a right oblique injury and Adou Thiero is out with a left knee issue. The Lakers' expected five, based on last season's minutes, is Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Quentin Grimes, Jake LaRavia and Sexton, so Sexton's status is the one to watch before tipoff.
03The matchup to watchIf Curry plays, the backcourt is the story.
If Curry plays, the backcourt is the story. Doncic and Reaves carried the heaviest minutes on the Lakers' roster last season, and they will see a Warriors guard rotation that could lean on De'Anthony Melton, Brandon Williams and Gary Payton II with Podziemski and Moody out. Inside, the Lakers added size in Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney, the former Warrior, while Golden State is likely without Porzingis and will ask Draymond Green and Al Horford to hold the front line. The Lakers also have Jarred Vanderbilt and Matisse Thybulle as defensive options against whoever Golden State runs its offense through. Depth will matter for both benches given the injury lists.
04How to watch and whenTipoff is Wednesday, October 21 at 10:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM local time in Los Angeles.
Tipoff is Wednesday, October 21 at 10:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM local time in Los Angeles. The game is on ESPN as a national broadcast. No local television listings are in the data for either team, so ESPN is the place to find it. The game is at Crypto.com Arena. Officials have not been listed. For Warriors fans, this is the season opener on the road; for Lakers fans, it is the home opener against the team that beat them twice in October's exhibition games.