The Los Angeles Lakers will hope to do better against the Golden State Warriors when the two teams meet in an NBA pre-season game in San Diego on Wednesday. Golden State topped the Lakers when the two teams faced off on Saturday, so Luke Walton's side will want to gain some revenge and confidence with a better showing this time around.
While the Warriors are one of the pre-season favourites for the title, having acquired Kevin Durant in the offseason from the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers are still very much a work in progress, even if they have high hopes for their new head coach Walton, who signed for the franchise having assisted Steve Kerr at Golden State.
So, Walton will know all there is to know about the Warriors, and having seen his team's late run fall short in the pre-season game on Saturday, the new coach will hope for a better start from his side come game time.
This will also be an important game for Walton, because it will be played at his hometown, and with plenty of friends and family coming to watch, the 36-year-old will hope his team impress.
"I got a lot of family and friends coming and it's always special to go home," Walton told the team's official website after a practice session on Tuesday. "But I've been going there for years. It's great to see them, but it's much more of a business trip."
The Warriors, who broke Chicago Bulls' regular season record last season for most wins, but fell short of the title when they were beaten by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, will want to take this game as another opportunity to get their rhythm going ahead of the new season, particularly considering they have added another superstar in Durant.
Durant had 17 points in the win over the Lakers on Saturday, while Klay Thompson added 24 with Stephen Curry picking up 14. It is clear that for any team to even harbour hopes of beating Golden State this season, they are going to have to find a way to stop the scoring threat of the awesome trio.
Maybe Walton, having worked so closely with Thompson and Curry, will find a way.
Where to Watch Live
Warriors vs Lakers is scheduled for an 8pm local time (10pm ET, 3am BST, 7.30am IST next day) start. Live Streaming and TV information is below.
India: TV: Sony Six and Sony Six HD. Live Streaming: Sonyliv.
Internationa, including USA and UK: NBA.com.
