Lakers Vs. Warriors Preview: Jarred Vanderbilt Returns, Rui Hachimura Out
Yesterday at 07:07 PM
Coming off arguably their best win of the season against the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers now hit the road for their annual Grammy trip, starting with a matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday evening.
This marks the second of four meetings between these two Pacific Division rivals with the Lakers also winning at Chase Center on Christmas Day. The last two matchups will be later in the year at Crypto.com Arena.
The injury report for both teams has been worth monitoring leading up to this one as Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga were both ruled out for Golden State.
On the Lakers side, their injury report was looking as clean as it has all season as Jarred Vanderbilt is back and expected to make his season debut against Golden State. The forward missed nearly a full calendar year after undergoing surgery on both of his feet.
Having Vanderbilt back can be a huge boost for the Lakers defensively, although head coach JJ Redick cautioned that they will ease him into action, perhaps not even getting him into Saturday’s game.
That was until the Lakers got some bad news on the injury front as both LeBron James (left foot injury management) and Rui Hachimura (left calf soreness) were downgraded to questionable on Saturday morning. James is able to play, but Hachimura is not, which leaves L.A. a bit shorthanded in the frontcourt.
The recent addition of Dorian Finney-Smith should help there as he is starting, but Vanderbilt could also be pressed into a larger role than expected if the Lakers want to pick up a win over the Warriors.
With Hachimura out and James potentially hobbled, it is also up to Anthony Davis to pick up the slack offensively for L.A. He has typically had his way with Golden State’s small front line in the past although has been forced to leave the last few games against them early due to injury.
On the other side of the ball, Stephen Curry is obviously at the top of the scouting report for Redick’s team. Max Christie, Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves, Cam Reddish and perhaps Vanderbilt will all be tasked with chasing Curry around and if the Lakers can slow down the future Hall of Famer even a little bit, then they will have a chance to come away with another big road win over Golden State.
With James able to play, it marks yet another matchup between him and Curry, which fans should not take for granted.
Los Angeles Lakers (24-18) vs. Golden State Warriors (22-22)
Saturday, January 25, 2025, 5:30 p.m. PT
Chase Center, San Francisco, California
TV: ABC/ESPN/ESPN+/Disney+
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: Austin Reaves
SG: Max Christie
SF: Dorian Finney-Smith
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Dalton Knecht, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jaxson Hayes
Projected Warriors Starting Lineup:
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Buddy Hield
SF: Gary Payton II
PF: Andrew Wiggins
C: Trayce Jackson-Davis
Key Reserves: Brandin Podziemski, Dennis Schroder, Moses Moody, Kevon Looney, Gui Santos
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