The Golden State Warriors' chances of starting the season off on the right foot has been given a major boost, with Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James set to miss the October 21 matchup due to injury.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania on Thursday, James will be sidelined for three to four weeks after being diagnosed with sciatica. It means the 4x MVP will not be available for Sunday's preseason game against the Warriors, nor the regular season opener at Crypto.com Arena.
Warriors should be confident heading into the season opener
Golden State would have entered with some confidence of knocking off their pacific rival even if James was in the lineup, but now they could surge into direct favoritism for the matchup given his absence.