Lakers vs. Thunder Summer League Preview: Starting off against top competition

The Lakers will begin the second leg of their Summer League stint in Las Vegas against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. This will be the first game of a back-to-back as they take on the Dallas Mavericks the following day.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

When: 7 p.m. PT, July 10

Where: Thomas & Mack Center

Watch: Prime Video

The Lakers will be challenged right away in their first game in Las Vegas against the Thunder. Assuming both teams field their complete rosters, Los Angeles will see OKC’s top pick, Aday Mara, as well as Bennett Stirtz, who was taken at No. 16 in this year’s NBA Draft.

While the Thunder remain stacked with talent, the Lakers have quality players as well. Lakers rookie Cameron Carr played very well at the California Classic. This is Carr’s time to shine, and if he plays well in Las Vegas, the entire NBA world will be discussing him this weekend.

LA will also feature other young players, such as Adou Thiero. He didn’t play in Summer League last year since he was recovering from knee surgery, but now he’s healthy and available.

He had an up-and-down California Classic, showing signs of brilliance but also some questionable performances.

Both Carr and Thiero left the California Classic with minor injuries. Thiero was dealing with a wrist injury, and Carr had problems with his toe, but Lakers coach Ty Abbott said both will be ready to go on Friday.

Beyond this duo, Lakers fans should be keeping an eye on how the two-way players Chris Mañon, AK Okereke and Peter Suder do.

In a competition like this, it’s not at the level of a typical NBA game. But it is a good test for young players.

Ideally, they all play well, no one gets hurt and the Lakers like what they see from their young core. The Thunder should provide a good test for them on Friday night. Here’s hoping they ace it in Las Vegas.