NBA schedule 2012: Warriors, Kings set to face Mike Brown-less Lakers

The Golden State Warriors have two games this weekend starting with Friday's night matchup against a Los Angeles Lakers team that's lacking a head coach.

The Lakers fired Mike Brown after their 1-4 start and are now on the hunt for a new replacement. Assistant Bernie Bickerstaff is expected to coach the team Friday night though when the Warriors pay a visit to L.A.

With center Andrew Bogut (ankle) shut down for the next week or so, it will be interesting to see how the Warriors handle Dwight Howard. Rookie Festus Ezeli is the next man up for Golden State, but he's only broke the 20 minute barrier once this season so he might not be ready.

Following that divisional showdown, the Warriors to Denver Saturday evening to take on a Nuggets team that is on a bit of a roll. After dropping their first three games, the Nuggets have rebounded nicely against Detroit and Houston with point guard Ty Lawson (15.6 PPG, 7.4 APG, 2.2 SPG) leading the way.

As for the Sacramento Kings, they'll be looking to extend a two-game winning streak of their own this weekend as they San Antonio Spurs come into town Friday night. The Spurs have looked dominate for most of this season, but the Clippers recently handed them their first loss of 2012, proving that they truly are human after all. DeMarcus Cousins will have to follow in the footsteps of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan and have a huge game for the Kings to hang with them Friday night.

After getting Saturday off, the Kings will take the court again against the Lakers in Los Angeles Sunday evening. By that time, it's quite possible that the Lakers might actually have a new replacement at head coach.

Stay tuned for updates from both teams as they face some tough Western Conference foes this weekend.