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Gameday Preview: OKC Thunder tip off 2019 in LA to LeBron-less Lakers

By Tamberlyn Richardson

LeBron James , OKC Thunder (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
LeBron James , OKC Thunder (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, OKC Thunder (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /

Projected Line-ups

OKC Thunder Starters:

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook
Shooting Guard: Terrance Ferguson
Small Forward: Paul George
Power Forward: Jerami Grant
Center:  Steven Adams

OKC Thunder Bench

Point Guard: Dennis Schroder, Raymond Felton
Shooting Guard: Deonte Burton
Small Forward: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Abdel Nader
Power Forward: Patrick Patterson
Center: Nerlens Noel

Injury Notes:

  • Alex Abrines has not played the last four games initially due to illness and recently tied to a personal matter.
  • Andre Roberson:  continues to progress from his initial patellar tendon injury and subsequent two procedures and is expected back either in January or February.

LA Lakers Starters:

Point Guard: Lonzo Ball
Shooting Guard: Josh Hart
Small Forward: Brandon Ingram
Power Forward: Kyle Kuzma
Center:  JaVale McGee

LA Lakers Bench:

Point Guard: Isaac Bonga
Shooting Guard: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.  Svi Mykhailiuk
Small Forward: Lance Stephenson,
Power Forward: Johnathan Williams
Center: Ivica Zubac, Tyson Chandler, Moritz Wagner

Injury notes

More from Thunderous Intentions

LeBron James hasn’t played in the last three games due to a strained groin and isn’t expected to play versus the Thunder.

  • Rajon Rondo (right ring finger surgery) will miss up to a month which would equate to a late January return.
  • Michael Beasley hasn’t been with the team since his Mother died. His return date is unknown.

    • Game Specifics:

    History:

    The Thunder holds the edge all-time having bested the LA Lakers in 21 of 35 games. Last season the teams split their four regular meetings.

    The Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
    The Tip: 9:30 PM CT  (10:30 PM ET), Wednesday, January 2, 2019
    TV: ESPN, FS Oklahoma, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)
    Radio: Oklahoma City – WWLS 98.1FM OKC / 930AM (ESP)
    The Odds: The Thunder are 5.5 point favorites, with an over-under of 229 points

    Next. The top ten biggest villains in Thunder history. dark

    After the game, check back with Thunderous Intentions to review the post game player grades, Topic: Thunder podcast crew breaking down the game and on Thursday we’ll have the key takeaways.         

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