The Los Angeles Lakers lost their fifth preseason game to the Warriors on Tuesday night. The Warriors were without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, so the concern is building for Laker fans.
There were some encouraging parts, however. The Lakers held the lead for a good majority of the game, which was a new sight early in this preseason so far. The Lakers have trailed in almost all of their games before Tuesday night's affair versus the Warriors.
The Ugly
Are the Lakers opening a bakery? Because they've got turnovers. Sorry, I am not letting that joke go. The Lakers committed 20 turnovers to the Warriors 13. LeBron James and Russell Westbrook committed the lion's share of these turnovers. If we're going to over-analyze, some of these turnovers came from shaking off the cobwebs. There were a few turnovers James had that you just can't see him doing often during the regular season. Westbrook's rust seems to be a little rougher, as there were moments where he missed assignments on defense and tried to make passes that weren't there. Take a look at this....sequence.
I do not see Westbrook doing this all season.
The points in the paint comparison were also an issue, to the tune of 48-36. That's going to need to be addressed.
There were just a few things that did not quite land as they were supposed to. Some things don't show up in the box score, and a lot of those occurred last night. Most of them have to do with a brand new team getting used to each other, and already having a depleted bench, and asking depth guys to come in and play big minutes.
The Good
Anthony DAVIS. Davis looks in mid-season form already. He was hitting jumpers, getting points in the post, and throwing down some nasty alley-oops.
Davis is ready to ball, and the Warriors had nobody who could really guard him. Lakers will be hoping this is the Davis we see on a nightly basis.
James looked like more himself after shaking off the rust in the first quarter, with some good penetrative drives and open looks.
Austin Reaves also looked very good. High energy effort on defense, and his jumper looks sustainable. Reaves played like a man fighting for big minutes, and so far he looks like he may earn them.
The Question Marks
Defense and bench. The Lakers are already sorely missing some key pieces in Trevor Ariza, Kendrick Nunn, Malik Monk, Wayne Ellington, and Talen Horton-Tucker. These are the guys the Lakers were hoping were going to be the biggest pieces to complete the team. Their absence is going to be difficult to adjust to.
Lakers take on the Kings on Thursday night.
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