Thursday's penultimate preseason game against the Suns had a very preseason vibe. Players playing hard, but a few guys missing and a lot of weird lineups on the floor for both teams. 

From LA's standpoint, a few things stuck out: 

-LeBron James missed the game (DNP-Old, said JJ Redick), and won't play Friday in the finale, either. That'll give him a full week of rest before Tuesday's opener. 

-Anthony Davis did play (likely won't play Friday) and again was excellent, with 35 points on 14-28 from the floor, plus 10 rebounds and four assists. He opened the game on a jump shot heater, hitting three straight including a pair of threes. He's carrying MVP form into the regular season. 

-Dalton Knecht again came alive late, hitting a triple over Bol Bol to push the game into overtime, then providing the team's offense in the extra session. Three triples, and and-one plus an old-fashioned trip to the FT line. Finished with 35 points. Developing some confidence is important for him, because... 

-Jarred Vanderbilt is going to be out for at least two more weeks. At that point, the team will take another look and see where things are. No real surprise that he'll miss the opener, officially, but still significant. 

-That opens up potential time for Cam Reddish, who gave the Lakers good minutes including a lot of energy. He was working hard on the boards, and showed his typical athleticism. With Vando out, it'll either be him or Knecht in the rotation early. Reddish had seemed to be the odd man out, but did himself some favors on Thursday. 

-Oh, the Lakers won the game. 

We'll see what happens Friday, but it looks like the Lakers have the cast of characters now that they'll have for a couple weeks at least. No Vando, no Christian Wood. Everyone else good to go. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: Lakers win as Knecht goes off. 

SEGMENT 2: No Vando, so did Knecht earn the 9th spot, or did Reddish make a sneaky play for it? 

SEGMENT 3: LeBron done for the preseason. 

For your next listen, check out the Locked On NBA podcast, where the season never ends providing national expertise with a local perspective. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.

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