National Basketball Association

Lakers vs Golden State Warriors Preseason Preview: Where and When to Watch

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Los Angeles Lakers have shown promise this preseason but face a difficult test in the loaded Golden State Warriors on Saturday night

On Saturday, the Lakers will get their first look at the revamped Warriors team, who became the unquestioned winners of the off-season by adding superstar Kevin Durant to their already imposing roster.

Although Los Angeles was able to defeat the Warriors once last year, handing them one of their nine losses, fans shouldn’t expect a win tonight, and should brace for a fairly lopsided final score. The Warriors have been a buzz-saw at times this preseason, even opening up a truly embarrassing lead on the playoff bound Los Angeles Clippers.

If the Lakers keep this game at all competitive, it should be considered a positive outcome for the young team. However, even though this game isn’t expected to be a nail-biter, there is still plenty of intrigue surrounding the game.

First of all, this will Luke Walton’s first game against his former team, where he was a part of two consecutive trips to the NBA Finals as an assistant coach. He’s off to a good start in Los Angeles, and will look to carry that into this game and the regular season.

It will also be interesting to watch Brandon Ingram in his first NBA game against Kevin Durant — the two squared off in Team USA practice this summer — as both have been compared constantly since Ingram emerged onto the NBA scene. Although Ingram has struggled on offense so far, it would be nice to see him get it going against one of his idols.

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Warriors rookie Patrick McCaw is another player to watch, as he will most likely get extended minutes in this game. He has excelled so far this preseason, and looks to be one of the steals of the draft along with Lakers’ center, Ivica Zubac.

Perhaps most importantly though, this will be a chance for the Lakers to prove they can defend top offensive players in the NBA. Their defense has been much improved this preseason, but players like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and KD are on a different level than most of the guys they’ve faced.

They won’t be able to stop them, but even showing that they can compete defensively with players of that caliber would be a huge statement for this Laker team. Clarkson will be especially key, as he will most likely receive the starting nod and match-up with the sharpshooting Thompson.

This will be by far the toughest challenge yet, and how they respond will reveal a great deal about the future of this young team.

Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Saturday, October 15
Start Time: 7:00 p.m. PT
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Arena: T-Mobile Arena
TV Info: Spectrum Sportsnet, NBATV

Do you think the young Lakers will be up to the challenge? Let us know on Twitter @TheLakeShowLife or in the comments section below!

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