SR – NBA Prime Time Preview: Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors

If there’s been an indisputable truth while looking at this season as a whole, the warning that the Lakers issued to the rest of the NBA and basketball universe was meant to be considered following their domination of the under-talented Golden State Warriors in the preseason.

So let’s take a trip down the Twitter memory lane, shall we?

Since the first publically visible pairing of Anthony Davis and LeBron James back on that October evening in the Bay, the Lakers have stormed out in front of everyone else in the West during a season many prognosticated this Lakers team to be right in the midst of the pack of the conference. But, as of late, things haven’t been as peachy during this four-game stretch as the Lakers formulated an average (to their standards) 2-2 record in the past week, losing close games to Damian Lillard’s Trail Blazers and the center-less Rockets.

And not that it’s been something to really worry about with the Lakers still possessing the best record in the conference at 38-12, but they might want to pick it up a little if they don’t want the Clippers to creep up on them, now only 3 1/2 games in front of their roommates in the Staples Center. Fortunately, tonight should be a bit of a reprieve when they face the West’s 2nd-worst team in Golden State Warriors (it still feels weird to say that!) who have a record of 12-40.

Something to consider: the Dubs are going to be rolling out a completely different starting lineup after the bombshell headlines hit all of the San Francisco sports mediums. As part of the substantially-effective trade deadline that conceded this past Thursday, they no longer have D’Angelo Russell as their starting point guard, Omari Spellman as their rotational big, or either Jacob Evans, Glenn Robinson III, and Alec Burks as all of the pieces mentioned have been traded elsewhere before the deadline arose.

So, it’s understandable how Dubs fans are freaking out at the moment. Yes, this team is going to be supplied with a litany of amenities from their cap situation, their draft positioning and the return of their vaunted backcourt, who many consider to be the greatest scoring guard duo of all-time. But in exchange, this early spring cleaning provided some gold chips, including Andrew Wiggins, the former No. 2 overall pick from 2014 that’s struggled to find his footing in the NBA since the start of his professional career.

It is confirmed that he is suiting up and starting tonight, and for his first taste of basketball in a new environment, he’ll get to play with the likes of Eric Paschall, team leader Draymond Green, Damion Lee, Jordan Poole, and Ky Bowman.

Ouch.

Golden State’s interior defense was already painfully mediocre against opposing offenses, and that was before they traded Willie Cauley-Stein to the Dallas Mavericks back on January 25. And the last time they played this dangerous Lakers team? They were pounced on early and crushed through four quarters in a 120-94 loss in the Staples Center. Tonight might not look that different, especially since the Lakers are 24-2 against the lowly teams in the league that they should beat.

But hey, these Dubs might be able to spring a trap game on the Lakers on Saturday night, and in this league this season, you can never fully stack your chips in the predicted “lock” team.