The Los Angeles Lakers' preseason schedule continues on Tuesday after they had four full days off when they face the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas. The Warriors blew them out on Tuesday, 124-98, when several of their players were unavailable.
They haven't been fully healthy yet in the preseason, and unfortunately, they still won't be whole on Tuesday. Luka Doncic, Collin Sexton, Adou Thiero, Ziaire Williams and Cameron Carr will not play versus Golden State, according to coach JJ Redick. Redick made it clear that Doncic is simply taking the night off for rest and isn't injured.
The good news for the Lakers, however, is that new starting center Walker Kessler will make his 2026 preseason debut on Tuesday. He had missed their first three games last week due to a jammed left pinky finger he had suffered during a practice in training camp.
This will thus be the first opportunity to watch Kessler in live game action and get a glimpse of how he will help the team's defense and rebounding. Both areas have been relative weaknesses for Los Angeles in recent seasons, and it had trouble on the boards in its first three exhibition games last week.
Last season, L.A. ranked 20th in defensive rating, 12th in total rebounding percentage and 24th in offensive rebounding percentage. Kessler, who has a career average of 9.3 rebounds in 25.3 minutes a game, will help the team get more second-shot opportunities on a consistent basis.
This article originally appeared on Lakers Wire: Five key Lakers players won't play on Tuesday versus the Warriors