The Los Angeles Lakers have had an unusual preseason schedule this year. They made a trip to Wisconsin to play against the Milwaukee Bucks last week, and it was a longer trip than they have made during an exhibition season in some time. They will also not play a single preseason game this year at Crypto.com Arena, their home stadium.
Another quirk in their 2024 preseason schedule is a set of back-to-back games on Thursday against the Phoenix Suns and Friday versus the Golden State Warriors to close it out before the regular season commences.
Against the Suns on Thursday, LeBron James will sit out for rest, while forward Rui Hachimura won’t play due to calf tightness.
James has played in the last three of the Lakers’ four preseason games thus far this month. He has looked like he is ready for the real games to start, as he shot a high percentage in his first two outings and has looked fresh and energetic.
He, Hachimura and Anthony Davis played in this summer’s Olympics, so managing their load over the next couple of months or so will be an important point of emphasis for head coach JJ Redick.
The regular season starts for Los Angeles on Tuesday of next week when it hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves.