Warriors @ Lakers Game Recap

With the first half of the NBA season in the books the Lakers look to start a new winning trend to position themselves for a playoff run.

First Half

 

I'll keep the first half short and sweet. The Lakers and Warriors looked extremely rusty after a long all-star weekend break. The first quarter saw a plague of turnovers from both teams and poor shooting from beyond the arc. I was surprised by the lack of energy, though, considering both teams are jockeying for playoff positions. The Lakers are sitting at 13th in the Western Conference, 3.5 games behind for the coveted sixth seed. If Los Angeles can rally to finish 6th or higher in the conference, they can avoid the dreaded play in tournament.

LeBron would have a poor shooting half, but it would be reported that he came into the game with an undisclosed illness. James would show signs of life by throwing down a beautiful ally-oop from PG Dennis Schroder, bringing the Laker fans @cryptocenter to their feet.

LEBRON JAMES!!!!!!! 😳😳😳🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/QvTt983LyM

  

Anthony Davis would do his best to carry the team early in the game. Although he was battling on the boards and scored a team-high in rebounds in the first half, he, in my opinion, did not look optimal. He avoided another life-threatening injury when colliding knees with a Warrior defender.

 

BAD NEWS:  Newly acquired PG D'Angelo Russell would leave the game early in half after tweaking his ankle running back inbounds after challenging a layup attempt at the rim.

update: when asked about his injury postgame here is what DLO had to say.

“Sore. Any other ankle injury the same thing. Sore, try and bounce back tomorrow and see how it feels. Get some meds in me, some rehab. Be alright.”

For Golden State, they would come into the game without their best player Stephen Curry and another All-Star, Andrew Wiggins. Knowing this, I had the Lakers running away with this win in my pregame prediction. Historically the Warriors have been able to withstand injuries to key players over the years with a balanced approach on offense and a gritty and break kneck defensive scheme. This year is different, though. When Curry is off the court, the Warriors lack that "magic" or confidence they once used to play with. 

With that being said, Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson did their best to keep the game interesting, but it was clear to me that this game would get away from Golden State pretty quickly. The Dubs cut the lead towards the end of the half, which saw a 13-point Laker lead dwindle down to single digits before the half ended.

Second Half

 AR-15 (Austin Reaves) would put the Lakers on his back in the third.

The second half would start off how the first half ended, with the Warriors coming out and hitting another wide-open three, this time, it was SoCAL native Klay Thompson who had himself a decent game scoring 22PTS on the night. The only other bright spot for the Warriors was their big man Kevin Looney who, for the most part, performed Anthony Davis and all the other Laker bigs. Looney would go on to finish with 10PTS and 15REBS in only 20 mins of play. Besides him and Klay, to me, it looked like the Warriors were looking for an early night exit, and that's exactly what the Lakers would give them.
LA guards Austin Reaves, and Malik Beasley had a break out third quarter seeing the Lakers pull away from Golden State. Beasley would finish with 25PTS going 7-11 shooting from 3-point range. He has been a nice addition to the team, which I believe will pay dividends as the Lakers make a playoff push. He hits from beyond the arc at almost 36% and is a decent defender with moderate size.
Reaves would go 6 for 6 from the field and finish the game with 17 points. Throughout the night, it was Austin who would provide routine energy plays that would get the crowd going and momentum on LA's side. Since his rookie year, Austin Reaves has definitely become a fan favorite for his hustle play and high basketball IQ. LeBron has always kept a cold white boy at his side, and this time is no different. Think Mike Miller, Matthew Delladova, Alex Caruso, and the newest great white hype AR-15.

 

The Lakers would defeat the Golden State Warriors 124-111 at one point holding a 20-point lead early in the fourth, forcing GSW coach Steve Kerr to take a timeout and playing the last 8 mins of the game as garbage time. Although it wasn't a very exciting game, and both teams looked out of sync, it was an important win for the Lakers and their playoff hopes.

MY TAKEAWAYS

  • DLO getting hurt worries me I hope he's back soon. The team needs all the chemistry it can get. 
  • Malik Beasley is going to be a big part of whatever happens for the rest of this season. The Lakers need him to continue to shoot the 3 ball well.
  • Golden State is a far less coheisve and talented team than last season. I know they have had a ton of injuries but i would be suprised if they came out of the West again this year.

Thank you guys as always for talking hoop with me, please follow us on Twitter and IG @GOODWORKSWORLD.

Heres the audio companion for last nights game.

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