The Golden State Warriors' chances of starting the season off on the right foot has been given a major boost, with Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James set to miss the October 21 matchup due to injury.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania on Thursday, James will be sidelined for three to four weeks after being diagnosed with sciatica. It means the 4x MVP will not be available for Sunday's preseason game against the Warriors, nor the regular season opener at Crypto.com Arena.
Warriors should be confident heading into the season opener
Golden State would have entered with some confidence of knocking off their pacific rival even if James was in the lineup, but now they could surge into direct favoritism for the matchup given his absence.
The general preparation for both teams could haven't been more contrasting to this point, with De'Anthony Melton the only player with an injury issue on the main Warrior roster. Seth Curry is still yet to debut in preseason as he ramps up in practice, but the veteran sharpshooter likely won't be available for the regular season opener anyway given Golden State will have to waive him and bring him back in November to get around their cap situation.
ESPN's Anthony Slater reported on Wednesday that the Warriors are taking a serious approach to preseason reminiscent of 2021 where they opened 18-2 after 20 games on their eventual way to a championship.
Golden State have won both their preseason outings against the Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers, albeit their main rotation was outplayed and they required a stunning 51-26 fourth-quarter from the bench to beat the latter on Wednesday.
It's a different story in Los Angeles where James has been dealing with injury, while fellow superstar Luka Doncic has been on limited duties after participating in EuroBasket. Major free agency addition Deandre Ayton revealed on Wednesday that he hasn't even with practiced with James or Doncic in training camp yet, let alone play alongside the star duo in a game.
“I haven’t. It’s something I’ve just been waiting on and just got to prepare. JJ [Redick] and the coaching staff probably have something where they can put stuff together for all of us to really grow chemistry," Ayton said to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
The Warriors should now have no excuses if they fail to come away victorious from their season opener, with their following three matchups against the Lakers not coming until February onwards.