New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Warriors - Game 1

New FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Warriors – Game 1

Franchise Sports Media

Los Angeles Lakers (0-1) | Golden State Warriors (1-0)

 

Despite two dominant offensive performances from LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers lost 123-109 to the Warriors in their season opener and failed to spoil the Warriors’ ring celebration.

 

Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Lonnie Walker IV, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis started in Tuesday’s game against the Warriors.

James, Davis, and Westbrook were all listed as “probable” on the injury report before tip-off, but all were cleared to go.

Lakers coach Darvin Ham hinted at the possibility of Westbrook coming off the bench late in the preseason but ultimately decided to go with a veteran backcourt of him and Beverley. 

Walker IV getting the start was also interesting, as this allowed him to play off of James and Davis. As a result, he had the chance to get some quality catch-and-shoot opportunities. But he ultimately fell flat tonight, shooting two for seven from the field and 0-3 from three.

Troy Brown Jr. (low back soreness), Thomas Bryant (left thumb sprain), and Dennis Schröder (right UCL repair) were all ruled out for this game. Schröder and Bryant are expected to be key rotation players this season but are lost for the next three to four weeks.

After the first quarter, the Lakers trailed 25-22. James and Westbrook combined for two of eight from the field and just five points.

All the while, Davis had a big first quarter himself, scoring 10 points, snagging three rebounds, two steals, and one block. Beverley acquired two fouls in the first quarter alone. The Lakers shot a horrendous one of 15 from three in the first.

The Lakers pulled within seven at the half, 59-52, after trailing by as many as 14 points late in the period. Davis led the way with 15 points. LeBron reached 14 points while grabbing nine boards despite shooting five for 15 from the field and 0 for five from three.

The Lakers made just three of 21 three-pointers as a unit in the half, while the Warriors made five out of 20 attempts. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were surprisingly 0-8 from three, the same as James and Davis.

Westbrook quietly had a nice first half, shooting five for eight from the field and one for two from three. He had 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists.

 

The Lakers and Warriors were back and forth in the first half, but with the game at 59-52 by halftime, the Warriors came out firing in the third.

 

Early in the third quarter, James would finally drain his first three of the game. Shortly after, Walker IV intercepted a pass from Curry, swings it to James on the break, and the King slammed it home.

James would get bailed out after making a sloppy pass, but then Kendrick Nunn would make another bad pass, leading to an easy layup for Draymond Green. The Lakers fell behind by 16 points at this point.

The third quarter was where the Warriors pulled away in this game—outscoring the Lakers 32-19. Again, the Warriors scored inside and out. They were forcing the Lakers to commit turnovers on the other end.

James ended up with 31 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. Davis finished with 27 points, six rebounds, and four steals. However, both were well into the negative in plus/minus, as the defending champs were too much from a team standpoint.

Davis had it the worst, as his plus/minus was a staggering -21. Davis exclusively played the five tonight with an overall smaller look since Damian Jones was a DNP and Bryant is injured.

“In this system, positions don’t matter,” Davis told reporters after the game. “I felt good at the five, comfortable. It’s fine on both ends of the floor.”

Westbrook had a solid game with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists. But he did commit four turnovers, and James committed five.

Curry struggled from three, shooting just four of 13. But he finished with an impressive 33 points, six rebounds, seven assists, and four steals. Thompson only played 20 minutes and had 18 points on six of 13 shooting from the field.

Green only played 25 minutes and produced four points, five rebounds, and five assists. Andrew Wiggins had 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Jordan Poole struggled in this game, scoring just 12 points on four of 15 from the field and two of nine from three.

In the end, the Lakers’ inability to shoot from three buried them in this game, as they shot just 25% from three compared to the Warriors’ 35.6%. This could become the point of emphasis on why they lose games this year, but that remains to be seen as it’s just opening night.

“That comes from a team that’s coming together for the first time,” James told reporters after the game. “But I loved the way we competed. Once we get on the same page, know where guys are going to be … (things can improve).”

 

The Lakers will look to bounce back against their hometown rival, the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday, October 20th, at 7:00 p.m. at the Crypto.com Arena. The game will be available on TNT.

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– Jake Ideguchi-Furukawa – Franchise Sports Media

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