Lakers vs Thunder Preview and Game Thread: Has L.A. finally found their permanent starting lineup?

Friday’s battle against the OKC Thunder is a good test to the see how the Lakers’ new starting unit keeps up with a prime contender in the West.

The Lakers are back home where they will face the current No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder. This will be the first time these two squads go head-to-head this season and the final NBA Cup game for the purple and gold.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

When: 7 p.m. PT, Nov 29

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch: ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet

After embarrassingly losing their first NBA Cup game to the Phoenix Suns in a blowout, the Lakers made the necessary adjustment of inserting rookie Dalton Knecht for Cam Reddish in the starting lineup the following match versus the San Antonio Spurs. It was the fourth lineup change this season in a span of 18 games and one that was done in favor of offense.

With the 23-year-old Knecht back in the starting unit, the Lakers started the game in San Antonio on a 17-4 run, which propelled them to lead from start to finish. It was easily one of the Lakers’ best victories of the season.

The early returns from this starting unit are already better than the previous one and the one prior. But now, the question is whether this is finally the starting lineup that JJ Redick will ride with moving forward.

Four lineup changes are a lot especially in a span of 18 games into the season, but it’s better to experiment and get answers now than later. The best part is that L.A. is currently doing this while they’re sitting on the fifth seed of the Western Conference, a better spot compared to this time last year.

Before the Lakers’ six-game winning streak was snapped, Knecht averaged 19.7 points on 48% three-point shooting as a starter. He proved that he was more than capable of being on the lineup and, in fact, increased their ceiling as he filled in the role of Rui Hachimura, who was recovering from a left ankle injury.

But one can argue at that time that the Lakers didn’t face inferior teams like the Denver Nuggets or even the Suns. So, Friday’s game against OKC will be a good test to see how this starting unit with Dalton in it keeps up against a prime contender, as well as whether or not this is indeed the best starting unit yet.

A win would go a long way

The Lakers’ three-game losing streak saw them go from the third seed of the Western Conference to the fifth, which isn’t bad considering how competitive this conference is. But as we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks, it only takes a loss or two for the Lakers to fall back in the play-in category, which they should avoid as much as possible.

With a win against OKC on Friday, the Lakers will redeem themselves from their latest losing streak and potentially stay on top of the standings. It’ll also be nice to draw first blood against this Thunder team, who the Lakers won the matchup (3-1) against last season.

Without Chet Holmgren and Alex Caruso in the Thunder lineup, the purple and gold should take advantage of the holes in their frontcourt. The Lakers’ offense must be clicking on all cylinders against this Thunder defense that ranks first in the league.

L.A. should know that this OKC team is full of young speedy players who like to punish their opponents with their turnovers and run in transition. The Lakers will have to bring their A-game at home for this one.

NBA Cup implications on the line

Besides the importance of winning for standing purposes, this game for both L.A. and OKC is an NBA Cup game, which means it’s a must-win for the former if they want to advance out of the group.

Since the Lakers lost by 27 points against the Suns and their point differential now stands at -16, the only realistic way L.A. can advance is if they win their game against OKC and if the Spurs beat the Suns on the road.

But if the Suns come out victorious over the Spurs and the Lakers win, then Los Angeles will miss their chance to advance. The point-differential system will not help them unless they beat the Thunder by a significant margin.

Suffice to say, the Lakers’ hopes of defending their NBA Cup crown are no longer in their control. Still, Friday’s match versus the Thunder should be a vital one in terms of long-term outcome and process wise, such as determining whether or not this starting lineup is one they should stick with moving forward.

Let’s see how the Lakers compete against the best team in the conference on Friday.

Notes and Updates

• For the Lakers’ injury report, Anthony Davis (left plantar fasciitis) is listed as probable as well as Dalton Knecht (right quad contusion).
• Jaxson Haynes (right ankle sprain) is doubtful while Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot surgery recovery), Christian Wood (left knee surgery recovery) and Bronny James Jr. (left heel contusion) are out.
• As for OKC, Chet Holmgren (right illac wing), Alex Caruso (right hip strain), Ousmane Dieng (right finger fracture), Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) and Jaylin Williams (right hamstring strain) are out.
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.