Lakers and Warriors stars sit as L.A. awaits word on Anthony Davis thumb injury
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors plan to rest most of their star players for Monday's exhibition at Staples Center.
The Lakers have ruled out LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma, while the Warriors plan to sit Draymond Green and D'Angelo Russell. The Warriors will still play Stephen Curry, but he will rest on Wednesday in another exhibition against the Lakers at Staples Center.
Both teams are handling their stars with care during preseason play, which includes three games this week in Los Angeles (Monday, Wednesday) and San Francisco (Friday). The Lakers have other reasons, too. They are only two days removed from a week-long trip in China and landed in Los Angeles late on Saturday. The Lakers are also nursing injuries to Davis (right thumb) and Kuzma (left foot).
Published reports indicate that Davis' MRI came out clean, but the Lakers have not released any information. The Lakers also plan to have a medical update on Kuzma, who has missed all of training camp after nursing a stress reaction in his left foot while training this summer with Team USA before the FIBA World Cup.
It is not surprising for teams to rest their star players during exhibition play. It is unusual for an NBA team to play a game merely two days after a preseason trip in China, which coincided with league-wide controversy surrounding Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeting out support for the Hong Kong protesters. The Warriors had a week-long preseason trip in China two years ago, and did not play again until five days later.
"It felt like it took a full week to recover from the jet lag," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "I do not envy the Lakers and their travel schedule right now."
Davis injured his right thumb early in Saturday's exhibition against the Nets in Shenzhen. The Lakers originally planned to evaluate Davis on Sunday, but they pushed the MRI to Monday to account for a delayed flight returning to Los Angeles.
The injury-riddled Warriors also have absences to Klay Thompson (left knee), Kevon Looney (right hamstring), Alec Burks (right ankle), Willie Cauley-Stein (left foot) and Alen Smailagic (right ankle).
Follow Mark Medina on Twitter @MarkG_Medina.