Warriors vs. Lakers watch guide: Lineups, injuries and player usage

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LOS ANGELES – The Warriors feel they owe the Los Angeles Lakers one and they’d like to take care of that business Monday night when the teams meet at Staples Center.

Coverage on NBC Sports Bay Area begins at 6:30 with a pregame edition of SNC, with postgame coverage immediately after the TNT telecast. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:40.

[RELATED: How to watch Warriors-Lakers online]

Several losses this season weigh particularly heavy on the Warriors, and one of them occurred on Christmas Day. The Lakers swept into Oracle Arena, and subjected the defending champs to a 26-point blowout (127-101) on national TV.

The Warriors (32-14) do not believe that game is an accurate representation of who they are, and will be out to deliver a more, um, presentable effort. It doesn’t hurt that they also want to push their seven-game win streak to eight.

The Lakers (25-22) will take the court with a vulnerable roster. LeBron James, Rajon Rondo and Lonzo Ball – their three top playmakers – are unavailable. Without a single point guard on the roster, they recalled point guard Alex Caruso from the South Bay Lakers of the G League.

[RELATED: Steph says Dubs' on-court chemistry still has room to grow]

PROJECTED LINEUPS

Warriors

G – Stephen Curry
G – Klay Thompson
F – Kevin Durant
F – Draymond Green
C – DeMarcus Cousins

Lakers

G – Brandon Ingram
G – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
F – Josh Hart
F – Kyle Kuzma
C – Tyson Chandler

INJURY REPORT

Warriors: Center Damian Jones (left pectoral surgery) is listed as out.

Lakers: Point guard Lonzo Ball (left ankle sprain), forward LeBron James (left groin strain) and point guard Rajon Rondo (right ring finger sprain) are listed as out.

ROTATION OUTLOOK

Warriors: Coach Steve Kerr utilized a nine-man rotation in Friday's win over the Los Angeles Clippers, with forward Andre Iguodala, guard Shaun Livingston, center Kevon Looney and forward Alfonzo McKinnie coming off the bench. Forward Jonas Jerebko, playing through right wrist/hand soreness, played only the final four minutes of the 18-point victory. ... Cousins showed no ill effects after playing 15 minutes before fouling out Friday. He is expected to remain in the 16-of-20 minute range. ... Though center Jordan Bell is out of the rotation, he could get minutes in this game simply because the Lakers rotations will differ from the norm.

Lakers: With the three top assist men on the sideline, increased playmaking responsibilities fall upon Ingram and reserve guard Lance Stephenson (and maybe the new guy). How thirsty for playmakers are they? No one on the active roster averages more than three assists per game. ... Caruso, who has a two-way contract, could see playing time. The team also summoned guard/forward Isaac Bongo from South Bay. ... Kuzma, in his second season, leads the team’s available scorers at 19.3. He’s one of five players to score at least 40 points in three quarters this season. Curry and Thompson are two of the others. ... Much like the Warriors last season, the Lakers employ a rotation of three centers: JaVale McGee, Ivaca Zubac and Chandler. All three average between 14 and 22 minutes per game.

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