The Lakers have yet another date with the Warriors and that’s a problem, even with no Draymond Green
The Los Angeles Lakers picked up only their ninth win of the 2015-16 NBA season on Tuesday as they toppled a New Orleans Pelicans team playing without Anthony Davis. They’ll face another opponent playing without one of their stars on Thursday night as they travel to ORACLE Arena to face a Golden State Warriors team that is resting soon-to-be-All-Star power forward Draymond Green.
However, Lakers fans shouldn’t be foolish enough to expect the same result against the Warriors that they came about when facing the Pelicans sans Davis. In fact, the Lakers should follow the normal pattern of when this team has faced the Warriors three previous times this season and simply brace themselves.
There’s no doubt that the Warriors are a vastly different team without Green in the fold, but they are still a team that presents major issues for the Lakers and still hold an enormous talent advantage of the road team. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are more than capable of annihilating the Lakers perimeter defense, no matter if it’s Jordan Clarkson, Lou Williams, D’Angelo Russell or anyone else trying to defend out there.
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Moreover, the Lakers are also in a submission hold at the hands of Kobe Bryant at this point while he deals with an Achilles injury. While trainers think that he should take some time off, Kobe is stubbornly seeming to refuse those wishes and is going to try and give it a go while being listed as questionable against Golden State. Regardless, Bryant being on the floor at less than 100 percent (and even at full health) hinders the Lakers on both ends of the floor against a fast-paced Warriors team.
If there’s one positive thing to look for out of the Lakers in this game, Draymond’s absence is curious for the likes of Larry Nance Jr. and Julius Randle. While Harrison Barnes and Marreese Speights will fill in for Green in his absence, they don’t present as formidable of a defensive front on the interior and it’ll be curious to see how the young power forwards in purple and gold attack that matchup.
In the end, though, the result likely won’t be pretty yet again for the Lakers. It might not be as bad as it has been in the previous three matchups because of Green’s resting, but that only softens the blow rather than countering it.
Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors
Date: Thursday, Jan. 14
Start Time: 7:30 p.m. PT
Location: Oakland, CA
Arena: ORACLE Arena
TV Info: TNT, TWC Sportsnet
Live Stream: TNT Overtime
Radio: Here
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Warriors -17
Moneyline: Warriors -4000, Lakers +1950
O/U: 216.5
Injury Report
Los Angeles Lakers: Brandon Bass (foot)—Doubtful, Kobe Bryant (Achilles)—Questionable, Julius Randle (foot)—Probable
Golden State Warriors: Draymond Green (rest)—Out, James Michael McAdoo (toe, foot)—Doubtful
Next: 5 Biggest Mistakes Lakers Have Made This Season
Prediction
Despite the fact that Draymond is out for the second night in a row for the Warriors and the fact that they lost to another bottom-dweller on Wednesday in the Nuggets, I don’t think the Lakers stand a chance in this one. The Lakers have been burned all season by talented perimeter players and they don’t come much more talented than Curry and Thompson. Don’t be fooled by the injury report.
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