When the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Brooklyn Nets in their first preseason game, fans won’t be seeing the Lakers trio of LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Trevor Ariza.
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The absence of Ariza is simply an effort to make sure that he fully recovers from an ankle injury, while James and Westbrook are getting some time off in preparation for the start of the regular season.
Given the Lakers’ veteran-laden roster, it makes no sense to have players risk injury in what serves as merely the first of multiple tuneups for this year’s schedule.
The Lakers watched their chances of winning back-to-back titles disappear last season because of injuries. One of those key injuries was to Anthony Davis, which is why he’s likely to see only limited time on the court.
In the case of Carmelo Anthony, his status for this game is largely unimportant, though Frank Vogel’s expectations of the veteran could be interesting to follow over the course of the year.
