Lakers preseason schedule gets underway Sunday night vs. Warriors in Fresno

The Los Angeles Lakers won't have Dwight Howard on the court just yet for any of their preseason games, but that doesn't make their exhibition schedule any less exciting. The eight-game preseason schedule begins Sunday night when the Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors at the Save Mart Center in Fresno.

That is one of six cities that will see the Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and the gang play during the preseason, including three games at Staples Center. Here is the complete preseason schedule:

• Sunday, Oct. 7: vs. Golden State Warriors at Save Mart Center, Fresno, CA
• Wednesday, Oct. 10: vs. Portland Trail Blazers at Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, CA
• Saturday, Oct. 13: vs. Utah Jazz at Staples Center
• Tuesday, Oct. 16: vs. Jazz at Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
• Friday, Oct. 19: vs. Sacramento Kings at Thomas and Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV
• Sunday, Oct. 21: vs. Kings at Staples Center
• Wednesday, Oct. 24: at Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center
• Thursday, Oct. 25: vs. Kings at Valley View Casino Center, San Diego, CA
  

In the lockout-truncated 2011-2012 NBA season, the Lakers had only two preseason games, and lost both to the Clippers. Since the Lakers began tracking full preseason records in 1982, their best exhibition record was 7-1 in the 1987-1988 preseason.

The Lakers tip of their regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 30 against the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center.