J.B. Bickerstaff will see his side as narrow 2.5-point frontrunners to start the new season with a road win, coming off the back of a busy off-season that yielded several significant changes.

Coverage of the NBA is going to look a little different with the start of the 2025-26 season, and finding each game may present a bit of a challenge.

A bright spot for the Lakers today was that Marcus Smart, specifically acquired for his defense, was the one Laker on the positive end of the plus-minus today at +2.