The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors meet again Friday in the Lakers vs Warriors NBA Cup Group Play matchup at Chase Center, eight days after Los Angeles blew out Golden State 127-105 at home. The Lakers enter at 4-1 and riding a one-game winning streak, while the Warriors sit at 2-3 but have won two straight, including a 134-114 road win over Denver and a 119-114 win at Minnesota on Thursday. The biggest question heading into tip-off is whether a Warriors team playing without three rotation pieces can slow down Luka Doncic, who has averaged 36.0 points a game this season.
Lakers Vs Warriors Game Information
- Date: Friday, Oct. 30
- Time: 10 p.m. ET
- Venue: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
- TV/Streaming: Prime Video
- Stage: NBA Cup, Group Play
The Lakers lead the season series 1-0 after their lopsided win on Oct. 22, and Los Angeles currently holds the top spot in the Pacific Division standings at 4-1, two games ahead of Golden State.
Can The Warriors Slow Down Luka Doncic Again?
Doncic leads the Lakers in scoring, rebounding and assists this season, averaging 36.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists a game. He has carried that production into Los Angeles’ recent stretch, including a 52-point outing in a win at Utah on Oct. 25. Golden State’s defense has shown cracks of late, surrendering 131 points to Phoenix on Oct. 25 before tightening up in wins over Denver and Minnesota. The Lakers rank first in the league in two-point shooting efficiency among the two teams, hitting 64.1% from inside the arc, a number that will test a Warriors frontcourt already thinned by injuries.
How Short-Handed Are The Warriors Up Front?
Golden State is missing three frontcourt and wing pieces. Center Kristaps Porzingis remains out with an illness and is not listed to return until Dec. 1, according to the official injury report. Guard Moses Moody is out following left knee surgery with the same Dec. 1 target, and forward Jimmy Butler III is out after right knee surgery with a Jan. 2 target.
Forward Gui Santos is listed as day-to-day with left knee tendinitis and carries a return date of Oct. 30, meaning his availability for Friday’s game is uncertain. With that group sidelined, Yaxel Lendeborg has stepped into a larger role, leading Golden State in rebounding at 9.2 a game and scoring 31 points in the win over Denver on Oct. 27.
Who Is Expected To Start For Each Team?
The Lakers’ own injury list is shorter. Guard Cameron Carr is out with a right oblique strain and forward Adou Thiero is out with left knee inflammation, both with a projected Nov. 1 return. Forward Ziaire Williams is day-to-day with a leg and foot issue and is listed with an Oct. 30 return date, making his status for Friday a projection rather than a certainty.
With Doncic expected to anchor the Lakers’ lineup, Los Angeles is positioned to roll out its usual rotation after beating the Clippers 103-87 on Wednesday. For Golden State, Stephen Curry is expected to start and lead the offense after averaging 28.8 points and 1.5 steals a game, with Draymond Green running the offense as the team’s assist leader at 6.8 a game.
The Key Matchup
Golden State’s offensive rebounding edge, 15.6 per game compared to the Lakers’ 9.2, stands out as a potential equalizer against a Los Angeles team that shoots at a higher percentage. The Warriors will need those extra possessions to offset a Lakers defense that leads the matchup in both steals (10.8 to 9.6) and blocks (5.8 to 3.8) per game. How Golden State’s depleted frontcourt, missing Porzingis and Butler, handles second-chance opportunities against Los Angeles’ defensive rebounding rate of 28.8 per game could determine whether the Warriors can keep pace with a Lakers offense averaging 123.2 points a game.
What To Watch
A Lakers win would push Los Angeles to 5-1 and extend its lead atop the Pacific Division, where the team already sits two games clear of Golden State. For the Warriors, a third straight win would mark their first winning streak of that length this season after dropping three of their first five games. Both teams are also building NBA Cup group play records that factor into tournament qualification, adding stakes beyond the standard standings. The Lakers have already beaten Golden State once this season, and Friday’s result will set the tone for the second meeting between the two clubs.
Los Angeles returns home after this trip, while Golden State continues its stretch of games against Western Conference opponents. Both rosters will get updated injury reports before tip-off, particularly on the status of Gui Santos and Ziaire Williams, whose day-to-day designations carry Friday’s date as a possible return.
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