The NBA is back, as the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors will clash at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Saturday, October 7 in the first preseason game for both teams.
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The game will be televised locally on NBC Sports Bay Area (Warriors markets) and Spectrum Sportsnet (Lakers markets), and nationally on NBA TV, but if you don’t have cable or don’t have those channels, you can watch a live stream for free on FuboTV, DirecTV Stream or Amazon Prime.
Here’s how:
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” NBC Sports Bay Area (local markets), Spectrum Sportsnet (local markets) and NBA TV are included in “Choice” and up, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch the Lakers vs Warriors live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of NBC Sports Bay Area (local markets), NBA TV and 100-plus other TV channels on FuboTV. You’ll need the “Sports Plus” add-on for NBA TV, but any packages and add-ons can be included in your free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the Lakers vs Warriors live on the FuboTV app or FuboTV website.
Compatible devices for the FuboTV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch a live stream of NBA TV via Prime Channels. You can try both Amazon Prime and the NBA TV Channel at no cost with a free trial right here:
Once you’re signed up for the Prime NBA TV Channel, you can watch the Lakers vs Warriors live on the Amazon Video app or Amazon website.
Compatible devices for the Amazon Video app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, various smart TV’s, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Sling TV
If you’ve used up all your free trials for other streaming services, Sling TV is the cheapest live-TV streaming service that includes this game. NBA TV is included in the “Sling Orange + Sports Extra” bundle, which is just $31 for your first month:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch the Lakers vs Warriors live on the Sling TV app or Sling TV website.
Compatible devices for the Sling TV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Lakers vs Warriors Preview
These two longtime rivals last met in the second round of the NBA playoffs, and the Lakers won the series in six games. With this being the preseason, both squads are taking a different approach.
For the Warriors, expect Steph Curry, new addition Chris Paul, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney will be the starters for Golden State in this one, according to head coach Steve Kerr. Paul, who averaged 13.9 points, 8.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds a game last year, is expected to bring the Dubs even more juice on offense.
“Maybe the biggest benefit (Paul) will bring to us will be his ability to run an offense when Steph is off the floor,” Kerr said about his lineup heading into this game. “They’re going to be great together. But the biggest problem we’ve had is the non-Steph minutes. Even when we had Kevin (Durant) and that group that won back-to-back titles, our whole group was to put a great defensive team on the floor and win those minutes with defense. We’ve never really generated good offense with Steph on the bench. Chris will help us do that.”
On the other side, the Lakers won’t have superstar LeBron James for this one, as the veteran is taking it easy heading into his 21st season in the league. Expected starting shooting guard Austin Reaves won’t be playing, either, but look to see Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt and Taurean Prince, as all are competing to be the team’s fifth starter along with James, Reaves, Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell.
“That’s what training camp is for, in my opinion,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “We’re going to tinker and entertain all different sorts of lineups: whether it’s small ball, whether it’s going big. … These guys are open for whatever we want to try and whatever we want to attempt to try to make work. … We’ll land on what we need land on but we’ll have several different lineups we can throw at opposing teams for sure.”
James says he’s likely to play approximately half of the Lakers’ scheduled preseason games, so perhaps the Dubs will see him next week. The Warriors and Lakers will play twice this preseason; Once here, and again on Friday, October 13.
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How to Watch Lakers vs Warriors Preseason Game for Free