Lakers vs Thunder Preview: Injury Report, TV Stream, How to Watch

On By Littum

The Lakers are back at home, where they will face the current no. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder. This will be the first time these two teams go head-to-head this season and the final NBA Cup game for the purple and gold.

Start time and TV programme

WHO: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

When: 7pm PT on November 29th

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Clock: ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet

After embarrassingly losing their first NBA Cup game to Phoenix Suns in a blowout, the Lakers made the necessary adjustment by inserting rookie Dalton Knecht for Cam Reddish in the starting lineup the following game vs. San Antonio Spurs. It was the fourth lineup change this season in 18 games and one made in favor of attack.

With the 23-year-old Knecht back in the starting unit, the Lakers started the game in San Antonio on a 17-4 run that gave them a lead from start to finish. It was easily one of the Lakers’ best wins of the season.

I still feel like the playbook opens up and sings that much more when Dalton Knecht is on the floor vs. For example, the Lakers ran stack action about four times (by my count) for Dalton in the second half alone. They really got quality looks out of these in Q3 specifically.

— Alex Regla (@alexregla.bsky.social) 2024-11-28T16:34:57.234Z

The early returns from this starter unit are already better than the previous one and the one before that. But now the question is whether it is finally the starting line-up that JJ Redick will continue to run with.

Four lineup changes is a lot, especially over the course of 18 games into the season, but it’s better to experiment and get answers now than later. The best part is that LA is currently doing this while sitting in the fifth seed of the Western Conference, a better place compared to this time last year.

Before the Lakers’ six-game winning streak was snapped, Knecht averaged 19.7 points on 48% three-point shooting as a starter. He proved that he was more than capable of being in the lineup and actually increased their cap when he filled the role of Rui Hachimura who was recovering from a left ankle injury.

But you could argue at the time that the Lakers weren’t facing inferior teams like the Denver Nuggets or even the Suns. So Friday’s game against OKC will be a good test to see how this starting unit with Dalton in it stacks up against a prime contender, as well as whether this is actually the best starting unit yet.

A win would go a long way

The Lakers’ three-game losing streak saw them drop from the third seed in the Western Conference to fifth, which isn’t bad considering how competitive this conference is. But as we’ve seen in the last few weeks, it only takes a loss or two for the Lakers to fall back into the play-in category, which they should avoid as much as possible.

With a win against OKC on Friday, the Lakers will snap out of their recent losing streak and potentially remain atop the standings. It will also be nice to draw first blood against this Thunder team that the Lakers won the matchup (3-1) against last season.

Without Chet Holmgren and Alex Caruso in the Thunder lineup, the purple and gold should take advantage of the holes in their front court. The Lakers’ offense must be clicking on all cylinders against this Thunder defense that ranks first in the league.

LA should know that this OKC team is loaded with young, quick players who like to punish their opponents with their turnovers and run in transition. The Lakers will need to bring their A-game to this one.

NBA Cup implications at play

Besides the importance of winning for standing purposes, this game for both LA and OKC is an NBA Cup game, meaning it’s a must-win for the former if they want to advance out of the group.

With the Lakers losing by 27 points against the Suns and their point differential now at -16, the only realistic way LA can advance is if they win their game against OKC and if the Spurs beat the Suns on the road.

But if the Suns win over the Spurs and the Lakers win, then Los Angeles will miss their chance to advance. The point differential system won’t help them unless they beat the Thunder by a significant margin.

Suffice to say, the Lakers’ hopes of defending their NBA Cup crown are no longer in their control. Still, Friday’s game against the Thunder should be a decisive game in terms of long-term outcome and process-wise, such as determining if this starting lineup is one they need to stick with moving forward.

Let’s see how the Lakers compete against the best team in the conference on Friday.

Notes and updates

  • On the Lakers’ injury report, Anthony Davis (left plantar fasciitis) is listed as probable as well as Dalton Knecht (right quad contusion).
  • Jaxson Haynes (right ankle sprain) is questionable, while Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot surgery recovery), Christian Wood (left knee surgery) and Bronny James Jr. (left heel contusion) is out.
  • As for OKC, Chet Holmgren (right illac wing), Alex Caruso (right hip strain), Ousmane Dieng (fractured right finger), Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) and Jaylin Williams (right hamstring strain) are out.
  • We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglanI.