The Los Angeles Lakers came out of the gates strong in the first quarter and blitzed the Golden State Warriors. Shooting 11/20 from the field and 6/9 from 3pt range. After the first quarter the Lakers never looked back. It’s a two game sample but everyone with their high definition and ultra high definition TV’s can see this a completely different team with Dennis Schröder back for this Lakers team. Schröder is able to run pick and roll and creates opportunities for his teammates.
Marc Gasol alone in the first quarter due to Schröder & LeBron James contributed 9 points while being 2/2 from 3pt range. Schröder creates so much havoc on the defense that it lets LeBron play essential safety. This allows LeBron to play the passing lanes to create turnovers that lead to easy fast break points for the Lakers. Frustration at this point had boiled over for the Warriors. Draymond Green picked up a technical foul as he thought he should’ve gotten a call his way. Lakers in the 1st quarter were able to create a 20 point lead at the end of first quarter.
Lakers Dominated
Second quarter begins and to keep this short, sweet, and simple the Lakers dominated. They increased their lead to as much as 29 points. Their hot shooting, and being stout on the defensive end was too much for Warriors to get back in the game. That led to their inevitable downfall. Lakers were again hitting on cylinders, and kept the pressure on the Warriors throughout the 2nd quarter. LeBron also ended the quarter in style by beating the buzzer to end the first half.
To make matters worse for the Warriors, as the 3rd quarter was set to begin Draymond Green was ruled out for the game with a left sprained ankle. This game got away from the Warriors giving the Lakers a chance to give Damian Jones time on the court. Jones recently signed to a 10-day contract and got some minutes to see how he looks and perhaps where he can contribute down the road for this team. Damian made the most of the minutes he was given in garbage time, scoring 8 points, 2 blocks, and 3 boards. With a game like this it’s impressive Lakers not only got a win, but a win with this big of a deficit. However to be fair this could’ve been just the wrong place, and timing for the Warriors to play the Lakers.
LeBron James played a season low 24 minutes today. Team scoring for the Lakers today was a great all around balance. LeBron 19 points, Kuzma 12 points, Schröder 12 points, Markieff Morris 13 points, Marc Gasol 9 points, and Alex Caruso 13 points. Simply put the Lakers won a game they should’ve won and took care of business. Now it’s to the next game against the Phoenix Suns .
NEXT GAME
Vs. Phoenix Suns, Tuesday March 2nd at 7:00pm Pacific
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