Who Was In and Out For the Lakers Preseason Opener

The Lakers kicked off their first preseason game against the Sacramento Kings Monday night. The team lost 105-75. Here are the players that were in and out for the Lakers preseason opener. 

Starting Lineup

The Lakers starting lineup for their first preseason game consisted of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn and Damien Jones. Head coach Darvin Ham revealed at the end of training camp that this was the group that had seen the most playing time together.

James and Davis playing in a preseason game came as a bit of a surprise. Many players of their caliber, choose to sit out during the first few preseason games. Last week, James announced that he planned to play more games this preseason than he has in the past few years.

Westbrook got the start over newly acquired Laker Patrick Beverley. Westbrooks’ future with the team was in question after a disappointing 2021-22 season. After the team added Patrick Beverly and Dennis Schroder, it seemed like Westbrook may come off the bench. Instead he started the game, played 15 minutes and scored 18 points.

Kendrick Nunn made his Lakers debut. He played 20 minutes, scored nine points and had two rebounds.

Damien Jones rounded out the starting lineup playing 18 minutes. 

Who else was in?

Many players got playing time including Beverley, Thomas Bryant, Scotty Pippen Jr. Juan Toscano Anderson, Austin Reaves and Max Christie.

Like most preseason games, defense was not a huge part of this Lakers-Kings matchup. Patrick Beverley and Thomas Bryant are known for their defense, but did not get much of a chance to showcase it.  

Scotty Pippen Jr. made his Lakers debut in front of his legendary father Scottie Pippen. He checked into the game in the third quarter and played 11 minutes.

The Lakers played 13 out of the team’s 20 players in this game. Austin Reaves, Juan Toscano Anderson and Max Christie all played at least 20 minutes.  

Who Was Out?

Dennis Schroder, Troy Brown Jr. and Lonnie Walker IV were all notably missing from Monday night. 

Dennis Schroder is still dealing with visa issues in his home country of Germany. Upon returning to his native nation for the EuroBasket championship this offseason, Schroder learned of a problem with his visa. He has missed all of training camp due to this issue. He is expected to meet the team in Las Vegas later this week.

Brown Jr. is still dealing with a lingering back injury. Walker IV has been dealing with an ankle injury all offseason. He has been cleared to return to full team activity on Tuesday.

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Image credit Nic Antaya/ Getty Images

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