The Los Angeles Lakers will look to bounce back after being stunned at home by the Houston Rockets on Thursday night as they take a quick weekender up north to San Francisco to face off against the Golden State Warriors, who are themselves starting with a clean slate after a busy trade deadline.
The Warriors were involved in one of the biggest trades of the deadline, involving lottery picks future and past. The Warriors traded D’Angelo Russell to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins, a top-3 protected 2021 1st round pick and a 2021 2nd round pick. The Wolves also received Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans in the deal.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Friday that there was a chance that Wiggins is in uniform for tonight’s game against LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers, but that there are plenty of procedural hurdles to overcome before that can officially happen.
If Wiggins plays, that will add another level of intrigue to the game. For whatever reason, perhaps being traded to Minnesota for Kevin Love before ever playing a game with LeBron, Wiggins plays well above his career averages against James. In 10 games against LeBron, Wiggins is averaging 26 points, shooting 45% from the 3-point line and 54% from the field overall. However, Wiggins is only 1-9 against LeBron in those games.
Tonight’s game is also expected to feature various tributes and memorials to Kobe Bryant. The game will be televised nationally on ABC at 8:30 p.m. EST.
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