Lakers vs. Warriors Preview: Going through the motions

The Lakers (50-29) will play their final road game of the regular season on Thursday against the Golden State Warriors (37-42).

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors

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When: 7 p.m. PT, Apr 9

Where: Chase Center

Watch: Prime Video

The tail end of the regular season has been a miserable time for the Lakers. Since the calendar turned to April, it feels as if it’s just been one unfortunate thing after another. With the playoffs around the corner, the overall mood regarding this team has been trending down.

While Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves focus on getting right, the team will have to rely on LeBron James and the rest of the Lakers to try to stack wins while they are out.

The Warriors have less to fight for this late into the season since they’re pretty much locked into the 10th seed. Still, since Steph Curry just returned from injury, there’s a high chance that they’re going to want to play hard in this one to sharpen themselves and build enough reps just in time for the play-in tournament.

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Note that the Warriors are coming off a victory against the Sacramento Kings, led by Curry and Brandin Podziemski. These two will likely lead the charge against the Lakers. Expect Golden State to want to put this game to bed early since they’re on the first night of a back-to-back.

As for the Lakers, well, what matters is that they at least try to make this one a competitive affair, just as they did in the first 20 minutes of their last game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Lakers head coach JJ Redick was quite critical of Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura, and Jarred Vanderbilt, whom he called out postgame. Hopefully, this one is a more pleasing watch no matter the result.

Let’s see if the Lakers can find a way to win their final matchup against the Warriors on Thursday.

Notes and Updates

For the Lakers’ injury report, Luka Dončić (left hamstring strain), Austin Reaves (left oblique muscle strain) and Jaxson Hayes (left foot soreness) are out. Marcus Smart (right ankle contusion) is questionable.

As for the Warriors, Jimmy Butler III (right ACL surgery) is…

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Publish date : 2026-04-09 02:35:00

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