close
close

How to watch, injury report, odds and more

How to watch, injury report, odds and more

Hot off the heels of a thrilling 128-122 preseason win on the road against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers will cap off the slate of their 2024-25 schedule with a finale against the Golden State Warriors on Friday.

Read more: Sharpshooting from Dalton Knecht and Anthony Davis gives Lakers OT Revenge vs. Suns

After scoring 35 points on 14 of 28 (including an impressive 4 of 9 from distance) and 3 of 8 from the foul line, while also grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out four dimes, blocking a shot and throwing a punch One steal in 33:53 will likely see nine-time All-Star Lakers center Anthony Davis sit out what is ultimately a meaningless exhibition game.

The action begins at 7:30 p.m. PT at Chase Center. It will air nationally on ESPN 2 and locally on Spectrum SportsNet. Los Angeles fans around the world can also stream the matchup online via Spectrum SportsNet+. LA-area fans stuck in traffic can also tune in via 95.7 The Game or ESPN LA 710.

Centers Christian Koloko and Christian Wood and power forward Jarred Vanderbilt will all remain out until at least the start of the regular season. Wood and Vanderbilt will be put on hold until at least early November. According to ESPN's NBA injury status report, All-NBA Lakers combo forward LeBron James will be out for the second straight game. Forward Rui Hachimura missed Thursday's game with calf strain, but his status for Friday night is unclear.

On the Warriors' side, guards De'Anthony Melton — one of Golden State's three new Klay Thompson replacements hired this summer — and 2024 All-Rookie honoree Brandin Podziemski (broken nose) are both considered every day, although they are forecast to increase.

The Warriors, who went 5-0 in their first preseason without Thompson (now with the Dallas Mavericks), opened the day as -10.5 favorites to win at home, according to sports betting aggregator The Action Network. The spread has now shifted to a more marginal value of -1.5, still in the Warriors' favor.

The big story yesterday, aside from Davis' 3-point shooting performance, was the decisive victory of rookie shooting guard Dalton Knecht, who has already overtaken veterans like Max Christie, Cam Reddish and Gabe Vincent and is LA's clear top reserve on the Path to the season is the 2024-25 regular season. The 6-foot-6 winger from Tennessee scored 35 points (including 25 in the fourth quarter and overtime) to help Los Angeles to a late comeback win against Phoenix as head coach JJ Redick opted to give the 31-year-old a pass spare Davis in the bonus picture.

The 23-year-old Knecht is averaging 18.0 points on .437/.360/.833 shooting splits (with 10.0 triple attempts per night), 4.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.4 steals in his five preseason contests so far and 0.8 blocks. He's ready for prime time.

More Lakers: Los Angeles signs All-OVC guard, waives two players before final preseason game

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *