The exhibition games are over, and so is the excuse. Wednesday against the Warriors is the real thing, and the Lakers walk in having just lost to them.
The Rematch
Golden State opens the season at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 21 on ESPN, five days after the Warriors beat the Lakers 89-101 in the preseason, with Austin Reaves scoring 28 and Walker Kessler 11 in the loss. It is the opponent that matters most this week, not because of standings that do not exist yet, but because the Lakers have not beaten this team since training camp started, and a 2-3 preseason, capped by a 106-121 loss to the Nuggets on Oct. 16, is not the kind of form JJ Redick wants carrying into opening night.
Who's Out
Collin Sexton remains day-to-day with a right lower-leg issue, listed since Oct. 5 and still unresolved as of Oct. 16, with an estimated return of Oct. 21 that has not yet been confirmed. Jarred Vanderbilt, Adou Thiero and Cameron Carr all carry the same day-to-day, undisclosed tag with the same target return date. Redick has had late clearances work in his favor before: Ziaire Williams, Dalton Knecht and Arthur Kaluma all came off the list this month, and Doncic himself was cleared from a rest listing the same day it was added.
The Stretch Ahead
After the Warriors, the Clippers visit Oct. 23 in the first of the Lakers' two true measuring games this week, followed by a trip to Utah on Oct. 25 to face the Jazz. The roster that makes that trip looks thinner than it did a week ago: Niwa Tait-Jones and Rafael Castro both left the team on Oct. 18, continuing a camp roster that has turned over several times since Oct. 12. Three games in five days is not a brutal stretch by regular-season standards, but it is the first one that counts, and it arrives with the injury list still unsettled.
When do the Lakers play their first regular-season game?
Oct. 21 at home against the Warriors on ESPN, the same team that beat them in the preseason.
Will Collin Sexton be ready for opening night?
He is listed day-to-day with a right lower-leg issue and has an estimated return of Oct. 21, but no clearance has been reported yet.
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