The Los Angeles Lakers have announced their starting lineup for their Wednesday night preseason game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The game, which will be the team’s second-to-last preseason tune-up prior to the start of the 2022-23 regular season, will feature three quarters of a regular season type rotation, according to Lakers head coach Darvin Ham.
The Lakers will start LeBron, AD, Russ, Beverley and Lonnie Walker tonight vs. MIN and Darvin Ham says he will use a regular season type rotation through the first three quarters.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 13, 2022
Given how close the Lakers are getting to the start of the regular season, this starting lineup should be what Lakers fans see in the team’s debut versus the Golden State Warriors next Tuesday.
For that reason, fans will certainly want to keep an eye on how things flow this evening.
In tonight’s game, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook figure to be the team’s primary ballhandlers.
Anthony Davis will surely spend a lot of time down in the paint, while also utilizing his unique ability to stretch the floor.
As for Lonnie Walker IV and Patrick Beverley, they will likely be tasked with finding their spots and hitting shots when they get open thanks to the increased attention that the other three starters demand on the offensive side of the floor.
Last season, Walker hit 31.4 percent of his 3-point shots and Beverley hit 34.3 percent of his. The Lakers will certainly benefit if both players can improve upon those numbers this season.
So far this preseason, the Lakers have gone 1-3. Their lone win came against the defending champion Golden State Warriors this past Sunday. With that in mind, this is the first preseason game that will feature what very well could be the team’s starting lineup to start the regular season.
They’ll face a tough test in the Wolves. Stars Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell are all expected to play. Newly acquired big man Rudy Gobert will not suit up for the game.
It is hard to know what is to come for the Lakers this season. If everything clicks, there is no doubt that they have the talent and experience to challenge for a playoff spot and beyond. However, as fans know from last season, things rarely go according to plan.
Depending on how the squad looks tonight, excitement or despair may start taking hold of fans in L.A.
