Lakers vs. Thunder Preview: Please don’t go to double overtime

Heavy minutes were played when the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night, and no, that wasn’t a typo. For the second time this season, the Pistons, who currently hold the worst record in the NBA, gave the Lakers problems. However, this time the Lakers were able to come out on top.

Did they need two extra quarters of basketball to do it? Sure, but who’s counting? The Lakers, hopefully.

On Saturday, the Lakers had four players that logged more than 40 minutes: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Dennis Schröder. No other Laker crossed the 30-minute mark.

For that reason, expect to see a few new faces in the rotation when the Lakers host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. Both Wesley Matthews and Markieff Morris have been healthy scratches in each of the Lakers’ last four games, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them get some run against the Thunder. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see LeBron James and Anthony Davis get some rest.

For all of the talk about how the Lakers’ revamped bench would lighten the load for James after his year-long championship run, James has averaged just 0.4 minutes less per game than he averaged in the regular season last season and appeared in all 24 games. His durability might be the difference between him and the other MVP candidates when the season is over, but he does need to get a break at some point, right?

Additionally, the Lakers announced on Sunday that Davis is dealing with Achilles tendinosis. and said Monday that he will sit out. If there was ever a night for both him and James to take a breather, it would be tonight.

The Lakers and Thunder will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on Spectrum SportsNet locally.

Notes and updates

• Outside of Davis, the Lakers have four names on their injury report for Monday. Kostas Antetokounmpo (right knee patellar tendinitis) and Jared Dudley (right calf soreness) are out. LeBron (left ankle sprain) is probable. Alex Caruso (left hand strain) is questionable.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @RadRivas.