The Golden State Warriors may already have a key edge over the Los Angeles Lakers leading into their regular season opener on October 21, with superstar forward LeBron James dealing with a nerve irritation in his glute.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania on Tuesday, James is likely to miss the entirety of the Lakers preseason with the hope of returning for opening night against Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and the Warriors.
Warriors look to be better prepared than the Lakers for opening night
Golden State have already claimed victory over their pacific rival in recent days, having taken a 111-103 victory in Sunday's preseason opener at Chase Center. The two teams will also meet at Crypto.com Arena this Sunday, but many eyes are already on the more important matchup that will take place later in the month.
While the win-loss doesn't mean anything in preseason, it's still notable that the Warriors appear in better shape from a preparation standpoint. They had 18 players appear in Sunday's victory, and they could add a 19th if Seth Curry is cleared for his first game after coming into training camp late.
There's been plenty of discussion over the age of Golden State's roster and the subsequent injury concerns that could develop, but right now De'Anthony Melton is the only player unavailable as he recovers from his torn ACL.
That will allow Steve Kerr to ramp things up slightly against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, before the potential of resting his veteran players later in preseason with a focus towards being absolutely right to go for opening night.
While James could be there to face them, it's hardly an ideal preparation for the Lakers who have also been without fellow star Luka Doncic so far in preseason. The Slovenian doesn't have a major injury per se, but the franchise has been cautious after Doncic's participation in EuroBasket during the offseason.
Major free agency addition Marcus Smart has also yet to appear for the Lakers due to an achilles issue, yet there's hope the former Defensive Player of the Year will be available for Sunday's game against Golden State.
All in all the Warriors should have some confidence a fortnight out from the season opener, with the franchise looking to repeat what they achieved four years ago. That time around Golden State parlayed a strong close to the 2020-21 season into a championship in 2022, having begun that campaign with, what was at the time, a surprise victory over the Lakers on opening night in Los Angeles.