Lakers vs. Warriors, 109-88: At Least Tarik Black Played

The Lakers’ three-game winning streak came to a streaking halt against the Warriors on Tuesday night

The Los Angeles Lakers lost by 21 points to the Golden State Warriors and anyone who says that the game was even that close is delusional. With both Kobe Bryant and D’Angelo Russell out (not that it would have mattered), Klay Thompson and the Warriors absolutely lit up the Lakers for 48 minutes inside of STAPLES Center for an easy win.

It’s telling of just how lopsided this game was when you consider that Draymond Green was kept relatively quiet and that Stephen Curry was banged up with a shin contusion before leaving the game early and that the Warriors were still able to dominate like so. It was two completely different classes of teams.

If there’s one positive to take away from the Lakers, it turns out that reserve center Tarik Black is alive as he was inserted into the garbage time rotation for eight minutes of play. For reasons that fans have been pining for him to play over the likes of Robert Sacre and Brandon Bass, he came in and played with palpable energy on both ends of the floor and executed the best pick-and-roll as the roll-man that the Lakers have seen all season (this is slight hyperbole, but you get the picture). 

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Considering all of the things coming out of Los Angeles in the past week, specifically the feud between head coach Byron Scott and second-year forward Julius Randle, this loss feels worse than normal even if it was to be expected. This team is now 8-28, but it feels worse than that because there is no direction and no real improvement for the team as a whole.

This Lakers team isn’t supposed to be good—let’s not forget that. However, there is supposed to be tangible growth from the young players on the roster and the sense of growth with the young players as a unit to help better set up the franchise for the future. And while there are individual performances that indicate individual improvement, but that cohesive sense of improvement isn’t there. The defense isn’t making any strides, the offense still looks as unsightly as ever, and things are just bad.

How the Lakers perform against the best team in the league certainly shouldn’t be the measuring stick to judge this team by—that would be asinine because good teams look bad against Golden State. However, it does expose the still apparent issues in Los Angeles that were masked by a fraudulent three-game winning streak. The Lakers are bound for the lottery and hope they retain their first-round pick, but it’d be nice to look better as they go through the process of reaching that destination.

Three Stars

Jordan Clarkson was the only source of consistent offense for the Lakers. He finished the night with 23 points, five rebounds, and two assists.

Tarik Black only got eight minutes in garbage time, but they were glorious. He put up four points, four rebounds, and a block in his limited duty.

Larry Nance Jr. only played 20 minutes in the blowout, but was the most energetic presence on the floor with the first unit. He finished with nine points, seven rebounds, and two steals.

Highlights

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/684583946009497600

Odds

The Warriors were 13.5-point favorites in this game, a spread that they covered easily. The two teams failed to eclipse the 211.5-point O/U line, though.

Next: Lakers Front Office Is Aware Of, Won't Act On Problems

Next Game

The Lakers will be back at it on Thursday night as they travel to Sacramento to take on the Kings.

The Warriors will be on the road as well for their next game as they take on the Portland Trail Blazers.