Blinksportsnews247At the Chase Center on Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers were unable to hold off Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in the absence of LeBron James and Anthony Davis’s entire vocal range.
The Warriors were too quick for the Lakers, who were on a three-game winning streak going into the All-Star break. They outmuscled, outrebuffed, and outhustled them. Golden State (28-26) is now only 0.5 games behind Los Angeles (30-27) for the ninth-place position in the Western Conference playoff chase after the 128-110 victory.
“We weren’t as sharp as we wanted to be, but it’s only our first game back,” D’Angelo Russell, who shot 6 of 15 for 18 points, said after his team lost. “Not as focused as we were prior to the intermission. It is anticipated. We’ll be OK.
LeBron missed the first leg of the Lakers’ back-to-back game because of ankle therapy, as hinted at by his remarks during All-Star Weekend and his absence from practice on Wednesday. LeBron’s ankle will be monitored on a “day-to-day basis,” according to Ham, but “in all likelihood, he should be out there” when the Lakers host the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama on Friday at Crypto.com Arena.
Without a strong performance from three-point range, the LeBron-less Lakers were never going to be able to compete with the Warriors. Rather, the Lakers shot 10-of-35 (28.6%) from downtown, while Golden State blasted 16-of-41 (39%) from the field. Curry’s mobility and sniping consistently fooled Lakers defensemen. Steph ended up scoring 32 points, including 16 in the first quarter, on 12-of-24 shooting, including 6 of 13 from beyond the arc, with eight assists.
“You simply raise your hand,” remarked Austin Reaves (16 points, 7-of-11 shooting), who, along with Max Christie, took the brunt of the Curry chase after recovering from an ankle injury. “Excellent team that executes the game well. They play with motion and continuity. Although it’s known before the game, it’s still difficult to defend.
The Lakers were a step sluggish on rotations, reactions, and 50/50 balls throughout the entire game; according to Ham, “kind of fell asleep.” Although he attributed some of the errors to Davis’ vocal problems—which reportedly kept the All-Star center, who finished with 27 points and 15 rebounds—Ham referred to the Warriors as the “more scrappy” team.
“We experienced a few mishaps away from the ball,” stated Ham. It seems as though they performed some energy plays. You are under constant pressure to put forth many efforts at this moment.
With a 17–5 run to end the first half, the Warriors never looked back. Although Ham believed the Lakers improved their off-ball defense, they did not improve their on-ball coverage when they were in the locker room.
Christian Wood, who has been sidelined for at least two weeks due to a knee injury, was missed by the Lakers, who are still without Cam Reddish, Gabe Vincent, and Jarred Vanderbilt. The Lakers gave up easy baskets while Davis sat, as rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis demonstrated with his 17 points on 8 of 10 shooting in 15 minutes off the bench.
Generally speaking, LeBron and Davis’s intelligence and the messages they loudly relay from the backline throughout a possession are crucial to the Lakers’ defensive performance. On a night when neither star can speak as normally as he usually does, the Warriors, led by a focused Steph Curry, might be the worst possible opponent for the Lakers.
“Playing against a team like this is going to be tough coming out of the break,” Ham remarked. I have one more (tomorrow). The recovery game must be won. We have to refill our mugs. Improve yourself.
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