Lakers vs. Cavaliers Preview: Injury Report, TV Stream, Watch

After losing their first game of the season to the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers have an opportunity to bounce back on Wednesday against the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers. This will also be the first time that LeBron and Bronny James return to their hometown together as teammates.

Start time and TV program

WHO: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

When: 4:00 p.m. PT, October 30th

Where: Rocket Mortgage Field House

Regard: Spectrum SportsNet

Monday's loss to the Suns revealed a lot about this Lakers team, both good and bad. We learned that JJ Redick wasn't lying when he said before the season that a loss would drive him crazy.

We have more reason to believe that Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves' strong start to the season could continue, and that the Lakers are dangerously reliant on Anthony Davis, for better or worse.

On the other side of the coin, we saw another blown lead from the Lakers in the second quarter, their weakness in giving up transition points, their disappointing performance off the bench, and arguably LeBron James' worst game in the purple and gold armor.

Despite the fact that this win is being treated like a moral victory, I can still argue that, all things considered, this was actually an encouraging defeat for the Lakers. It was their third game in four nights against a Pacific Division opponent they had defeated just five days earlier. So it was a welcome sight for Los Angeles to fight on the streets the way they did.

Additionally, the Lakers were competitive throughout the game, although James only scored 11 points on 3-for-14 shooting from the field. This game had deadline losses written all over it before the tip-off, but now it's considered one that got away. The only way for the Lakers to make up for this is to stick with what AD confirmed after the game, which is to avoid losing two in a row.

The determination to achieve that goal will be tested early when the Lakers face a Cavaliers team that is not only off to a perfect start, but is also playing good basketball early in the season.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of LeBron and Bronny's return to Cleveland:

Zoom in on the Cavs

The Cavs have beaten three rebuilding teams so far: the Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards, as well as the New York Knicks. Despite having an easy schedule to start the year, this team is already averaging the third-most points in the league (123.5), led by Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. They are still one of the most unique teams in the NBA, playing two great players in Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

The Lakers will be Cleveland's toughest opponent yet – sorry, Knicks – so it will be interesting to see how these two teams adapt and play against each other. After challenging his own defensive scheme last game, Redick now has a chance to bounce back with a unique challenge. Let's see how the Lakers perform at home against a motivated Cavaliers team that ideally wants to remain undefeated.

Will the Lakers continue to be exposed?

One way for the Lakers to get back on their feet is to do something about the transition points they gave up. In the last two games, LA has given up 21 against the Suns and 31 (!) against the Sacramento Kings, which is unacceptable.

That's partly because the Lakers turn the ball over a lot – they currently rank sixth in the league in that regard – and also because they put more effort into crashing the glass. But something has to be done, because there's no doubt that the Cavs — who currently average the fifth-most points in transition — will look to expose that on Wednesday.

In addition to transition defense, it will also be nice to see the Lakers' bench outscore the opponent's. That responsibility falls to Max Christie, who didn't perform well at the start of the season, as well as Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Haynes and Dalton Knecht.

These guys should be partially responsible for keeping the lines that build the starters and being the spark plugs this team desperately needs.

That being said, it's one thing for Redick and the Lakers to be upset about losing the first game of this road trip and another to actually take it out on the Cavs to get back on their feet. This game will give us our first glimpse of the Lakers' overall character and how serious they actually are about getting these wins.

Let’s see how the Lakers bounce back against the Cavaliers on Wednesday.

Notes and updates

• Good news for the Lakers: Christian Koloko has reportedly been cleared by the NBA to return to the court. It's unclear when exactly the big man will make his Lakers debut, but it's encouraging to know he can now return to practice.
• Some notable names made it onto the list for the Lakers' injury report. Austin Reaves (severe left contusion) is probable, while D'Angelo Russell (lower back pain) is questionable.
• Christian Koloko (return to competition, reconditioning), Jarred Vanderbilt (recovering from a right foot injury) and Christian Wood (recovering from a right knee injury) remain out.
• Jalen Hood-Schifino (G League assignment), Maxwell Lewis (G League assignment), Quincy Olivari (G League two) and Armel Traore (G League two) are all scheduled to play for the South Bay Lakers be.
• Craig Porter (thumb) and Max Strus (hip) are out for the Cavs.
• We'll be live on playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglanI.