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If all goes well between now and Saturday at 5 p.m., Anthony Davis will make his debut alongside LeBron James when the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center, head coach Frank Vogel said after practice on Friday.
While there is no official minutes restriction on James and Davis, it’s safe to assume Vogel will limit how much they play in the preseason, as is protocol with star players — particularly ones who will turn 35 in December like James. For example, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has already said he plans on playing Stephen Curry and Draymond Green no more than 20 minutes on Saturday.
As far as official restrictions go, Jared Dudley will not play against the Warriors on Saturday as he’s been experiencing knee soreness, according to Vogel. However, Vogel insisted that he’s been held out for precautionary reasons and that the team isn’t concerned about it long-term.
“With Kuzma potentially being out at the beginning of the season, we want to make sure Jared has that behind him and is available to us as we get closer to October. We expect him to play at least the few last few preseason games,” Vogel said.
With Dudley out until at least Saturday, expect Devontae Cacok and Kostas Antetokounmpo to backup Davis at the power forward position.
Talen Horton-Tucker (stress reaction) and Kyle Kuzma (stress reaction) will also be sidelined for Saturday’s matchup in San Francisco, but both of them started shooting off of two feet at practice on Friday, so they’re making progress towards a return.
Kyle Kuzma is shooting off both feet today. pic.twitter.com/EwXOnhyUYs
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) October 4, 2019
And just told Talen Horton-Tucker "I got two feet today!" so that sounds optimistic
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) October 4, 2019
Horton-Tucker and Kuzma will be re-evaluated when the Lakers return from their trip to China on Oct. 13.
The team might not be at full strength and it is just be preseason, but Lakers basketball is officially back on Saturday and Davis and James are on the team. That’s — as Larry David would say — pretty, pretty good.
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