The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Golden State Warriors on opening night, in what was quite an underwhelming loss.
Lakers Can’t Support Luka Dončić In Opening Night Loss
Luka Dončić was one of the only brights spot for the Lakers, leading the team in both points and rebounds. In 41 minutes, he finished with 43 points, nine assists and 12 rebounds. Austin Reaves came on in the second half, doing his damage while playing with five fouls. A strong fourth quarter (13 points) ran up his point total to 26, though he led the Lakers with five turnovers. In all, Dončić and Reaves combined for 69 of the team’s 109 points, with only one other player in double figures.
Conversely, Golden State had plenty of standout performers, including Jimmy Butler III. Butler led the Warriors with 31 points, over half of which came from the free throw line. Draymond Green led Golden State with nine assists and added two blocks as well. Stephen Curry added three steals of his own to go with 23 points. If that weren’t enough, both Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield added 17 points each.
Defensive Lapses
The Lakers had plenty of trouble on defense, as they were picked apart by backdoor cuts and precision passing. Foul trouble was also a tremendous issue as Reaves and Marcus Smart, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, combined for nine personal fouls. The Warriors took advantage of this, going 26-29 (89.7%) from the free-throw line. A career 84.3% free-throw shooter, Butler went 16-16 from the stripe.
Lid On The Rim
L.A.’s next biggest issue came on offense, primarily from the supporting cast.
The Lakers shot terribly all night, converting 3-point attempts at just a 25.0% rate. Dončić was culpable in their inefficiency, as he was 2-10 from deep. However, the second unit shot went just 1-7 from 3-point range. In all, Los Angeles was held to eight 3-point conversions as opposed to 17 for Golden State.
The Lakers also struggled at the free-throw line, shooting 60.7%. The bench shot just 3-6 from the stripe. By the end of the game, Los Angeles missed 11 total free-throws, with the Warriors missing just three. In what ended up being a 10 point loss, this played a huge role.
Too Short Rotation
Bench depth also proved to be tremendously problematic. Lakers head coach JJ Redick opted to play only a nine-man rotation and oftentimes did not use his bench at all. While Doncic played 41 minutes, Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura all played 34 minutes or more. Only three of four bench players scored for Los Angeles, as the bench combined for 18 points. Smart led the way with nine points in 23 minutes.
As was alluded to, turnovers were another worry, as the Lakers finished with 20 turnovers and just 23 assists. Reaves, Ayton and Smart combined for 12 of those, with Dončić adding three of his own.
The Last Word
Despite an impressive showing from Dončić, who’s now their lead man, the Lakers are far from where they’d like to be to begin the season. If they want to stay afloat until LeBron James returns from his nerve injury, they’ll need much more from their supporting cast. Furthermore, Redick will need to lean on a deeper rotation, adding guys like second-year wing Dalton Knecht into the mix.
Luckily for Los Angeles, they’ll have two days of rest to figure things out before facing the Minnesota Timberwolves in their second straight home game on Friday. Having been eliminated by the Timberwolves in last year’s playoffs, the Lakers should have extra incentive to earn their first win of the year.
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