The Los Angeles Lakers received a harsh reality check on Thursday night at Staples Center.
“It’s a learning experience,” Kobe Bryant said after the 120-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors were a vastly superior team, and no amount of effort, heroics or crowd noise would change that fact. Heck, not even Bryant could change that at this early point in the preseason.
Bryant played the first 10 and a half minutes of Thursday’s game before sitting down for a rest. Despite a strong individual start, the Lakers were already flirting with a double digit deficit by the time Bryant grabbed a seat. In that first spell, Bryant racked up 10 points on 4/6 shooting from the field, including a two-hand dunk. Also, he added two steals, one assist, one rebound. More often than not, Bryant performed some fancy footwork and continued to make a living with his patented baseline fade away jump shot.
He was not alone, though, as Jeremy Lin also put together a promising performance on the offensive side of the ball. Lin, who made his first start with the Lakers, ultimately earned player of the game honors in the arena. Lin only earned the start due to Lakers’ coach Byron Scott opting to rest 40-year-old Steve Nash for the night. The 26-year-old Lin took advantage of his opportunity and finished perfect from the field. He put together a 14-point, four-rebound and four-assist outing at Staples Center. Most importantly, Lin finished with only one turnover in slightly more than 21 minutes of work.
Despite a few standout performances, the Lakers, on the whole, failed on the defensive side of the ball. Asked about where the defensive breakdowns occurred, Scott responded, “Everywhere.”
In particular, the Warriors’ “splash brothers” combo found a way to get going and never stopped. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 8/10 shooting from behind the arc on Thursday night, and Thompson, in particular, had a white hot hand and finished with 25 points in 25 minutes on 9/13 shooting.
Clearly, The Lakers were a work in progress, as the home team only managed to display short stretches of good defense and good offense. The Warriors, in contrast, had a core of players that had played together for an elongated stretch and had already developed a level of chemistry the Lakers could only dream about at that moment.
Still, Thursday night contained bright spots for the Lakers. One of those bright spots was Ed Davis, who pulled down six rebounds—four of which were offensive—in 10 first half minutes. Although Carlos Boozer did not shoot a high percentage, the veteran power forward earned consistent open looks and finished with a team-high 16 points, so he could also be considered a bright spot. Also, backup point guard Ronnie Price controlled the pace of the game and appeared to be comfortable on the court.
Ultimately, though, the darkest spot on Thursday night was overall defense, as the Lakers allowed the visiting Warriors to score 120 points on 56 percent shooting.
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Notes: Jordan Clarkson left the game in the second quarter with a left calf strain. Clarkson said his calf “tightened up” while he was running. With the Lakers having the day off of practice on Friday, Clarkson will visit a doctor and find out more about the strain.
