The Los Angeles Lakers fell to a 97-111 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. This loss means the Lakers are 1-3 in preseason so far while the Warriors improved their preseason record to 5-0.
The Lakers were led by Anthony Davis putting up 24 points and 12 rebounds on 10-14 shooting (71.4%). Dalton Knecht had a rough start to the game but ended the night with 19 points (6-15 FG, 5-13 3PT) after a 14-point explosion in the fourth quarter. Rui Hachimura put up 15 points (5-14 FG) and 9 rebounds while Austin Reaves had 13 points (3-8 FG). LeBron James disappointed with 6 points (3-9 FG) in 23 minutes.
The Warriors were catapulted by a hot shooting night from Moses Moody, putting up 21 points (7-13 FG, 5-7 3PT) and 5 rebounds. Stephen Curry put up an inefficient 16 points (6-18 FG, 3-11 3PT), while Draymond Green, Gary Payton II, Kyle Andreson, and Buddy Hield all had 10 points. Jonathan Kuming and Andrew Wiggins both put up 11 points in a team effort for the win.
Here are three reasons why the Lakers couldn’t win this preseason outing against their rivals.
LeBron James Didn’t Show Up
LeBron James is entering his 22nd NBA season, tying him for the second-most seasons in NBA history. Unlike any other player to have played this much, James is still expected to be among the leading contributors for the Lakers as they make a Playoff run. His age showed tonight as he was largely ineffective in his 6-point performance against the Warriors. He also had two turnovers while shooting 33.3% from the field.
This isn’t a comment on James’ ability or who he is as a player right now. This is a preseason game so LeBron shouldn’t be expected to be a highly productive player right now, but he was clearly bothered by the various defenders the Warriors threw at him with Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins all executing strong defensive possessions on James.
He spent 23 minutes trying to pick his spots against the Warriors but had very intermittent success. He spent a lot of time off-ball, which could be by design to limit his workload and see how he can fit into the larger flow of the new team offense under JJ Redick instead of being the one dictating the flow for the Lakers.
His role will be expanded when they open the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but this is one of LeBron’s worst preseason outings while wearing a Laker uniform.
3-Point Shooting Remains A Major Concern
The Lakers’ outside shooting is still a concern for the franchise as they went 11-40 from three in this loss. These numbers are skewed because Dalton Knecht (5-12 3PT) sank multiple outside shots during garbage time in the fourth quarter, but the Lakers were already down 20 points by the time he got going.
The Lakers have shot 46-156 (29.4%) through all preseason games, an unimpressive mark for the franchise hoping to match up to other offenses in the Western Conference.
The addition of Knecht has bolstered the Lakers’ three-point offense, with the rookie likely getting minutes this season purely because of his shooting ability. Outside of that, D’Angelo Russell (2-6 3PT), Austin Reaves (2-6 3PT), and Rui Hachimura (1-5 3PT) couldn’t move the needle during large chunks of the game. LeBron didn’t attempt a single outside shot despite shooting over 40% from three last season.
JJ Redick has been implementing new offensive sets including flare screens and DHOs to create open looks for his players but tonight, the shots were simply not falling. The Lakers have competent shooters in their roster but if they struggle for consistency like they did last season, more losses due to poor shooting could be on the horizon.
Overly Dependent On Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis dominated this game with his 24 points and 12 rebounds, with the Warriors having no answer for him whenever he was on the court. It adds to a trend we’ve seen for the Lakers where Davis is a bigger difference-maker than LeBron when it comes to the Lakers struggling to compete. James has been pushing Davis to be the primary scoring option for the franchise, a role he seems to have fully embraced now.
The Lakers were a +3 in a 14-point loss with Davis on the court, with the Warriors having no answer for him on the interior. Big wings like Kuminga and Wiggins were more effective on LeBron by matching him on the perimeter, but bigs like Draymond and Trayce Jackson-Davis couldn’t handle Davis on the block as he punished them on cuts and post-up plays.
The Lakers looked decidedly different whenever Davis was off the floor, with the Warriors being able to guard others more effectively as they didn’t have to worry about the center dominating them on the inside.
There were chunks of last season where this was evident as well, so the Lakers will hope they can curb their dependence on Davis by either acquiring another competent big man or promoting bigs like Jaxson Hayes depending on performance.
