At least in this first game, the 2022-2023 Los Angeles Lakers looked much like the 2021-2022 Los Angeles Lakers.
Constant losses (22), ineffectiveness with the shot of three (10 of 40), and absolute dependence on LeBron and Davis added to his usual defensive problems. In that context, losing to the champion Golden State Warriors 123-109 is not the most worrying thing, but the image shown on the field.
If not for a fourth-quarter push, the game could easily have ended with Steve Kerr's team leading by 30 or more (they were leading by 27 midway through the third quarter).
Stephen Curry led the winner with 33 points, seven assists and six rebounds, accompanied by 20 points from Andrew Wiggins and 18 from Klay Thompson. The Lakers had 31 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists from LeBron James, 27 points from Anthony Davis and a solid performance from Russell Westbrook (started) with 19 points, 11 rebounds and a 7-12 shooting from the field.
Equipment1 C2 C3C4CFinal
Golden State Warriors 25 3. 4 32 32 123
Los Angeles Lakers 22 30 19 38 109
Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers live.
12 minutes more. The last quarter was already too much, and it only served the Lakers to make up the score slightly and close with a disadvantage of 14, a game they could easily lose by 25 or 30 points.
Golden State takes a maximum of 16 and is taking advantage of the Lakers' distractions in the defensive transition. This a problem they had throughout last season, which is still present at this start. Eighteen for Steph and 15 for Klay.
The Warriors missed several open triples that could have broken the scoreboard, and the Lakers took advantage of it with good passages from Russ (11 and 6 rebounds) and LeBron (14 and 9 rebounds) to close the gap.
On the other hand, Steph isn't fine shooting (0-for-5 3-pointers), but he easily breaks the front line and gets to the rim with no problem. Sixteen points for Curry, the top scorer in a first half won by Golden State 59-52.
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