The Los Angeles Lakers will start their preseason journey against the Phoenix Suns, and many are expecting to see how the team looks with the new additions. Unfortunately, they'll have to wait to see Luka Doncic, as he won't play this weekend, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic.
“Lakers say that Luka Dončić won’t play this weekend in the preseason. Coming off of EuroBasket run with Slovenia, team taking cautious approach,” Woike wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Not only will Doncic be out, but LeBron James and others will also be out, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
“JJ Redick says the team is still evaluating its lineups for the first preseason games this weekend, but it’s already been determined that LeBron James (glute), Marcus Smart (Achilles tendinopathy), Maxi Kleber (quad), and Adou Thiero (knee) are out Friday against PHX,” McMenamin reported.
There's no surprise that some of these players won't be available in the opener, as the Lakers want to be cautious going into the season. For Doncic, he's played a lot this summer due to EuroBasket, and he could use some rest before the season starts. It's possible that Doncic and James will play in at least one preseason game, but they probably won't play many minutes.
The Lakers have some new additions this season, such as Deandre Ayton, Smart, and Jake LaRavia, and they could be key pieces to the team's success. It will be important for them to build chemistry with the team before the season, and reps in a game would be the best way of doing that.
With Doncic having a full training camp with the Lakers, unlike last season, when he was traded to them in the middle of the season, that could be key for the Lakers early on to help them get off to a fast start.
