On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers will be playing the Golden State Warriors. Recently Warriors forward Kevin Durant praised Luke Walton.
The Los Angeles Lakers will be looking get back in the win column, as they host the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
It will be the first time this season that the Lakers have played the Warriors, and a matchup with Golden State can always be a difficult one. A few years ago, Walton actually was the head coach for the Warriors for a little while, as Steve Kerr had to deal with some health issues.
Even though the team has changed a bit with the addition of Kevin Durant, the core is still there that he coached. Walton was able to gain a lot of respect from the coaching and players community with how he stepped in for Kerr and then stepped back down despite the Warriors rolling with him as the head coach. One player that is a big fan of Walton is Kevin Durant. Here’s what Durant recently said to Anthony Slater of The Atlantic.
"“I’ve been a fan of the Lakers. Since Luke Walton came on, I’ve been following them a little bit more. I always enjoyed watching Luke coach and put his team in good positions. He did it [with the Warriors], he did it last year and he’s doing it now. They’re a young team, they’re getting better every day, getting better every game. They’re learning how to win.”"
Even though the Lakers obviously haven’t had the same record with Walton as the Warriors did, Durant thinks that Walton is doing a good job with the team. Last season, the Lakers were able to improve from the season before under Walton, as they totaled 26 wins.
While it is still very early in the season, the Lakers do currently have a better winning percentage than what they did when they finished last season. By no means is coaching a young team like the Lakers an easy thing.
Even though the Lakers do have a lot of young talent, young talent doesn’t develop overnight. On some nights, young players are just flat out going to play poorly. Also, winning is something that has to be learned in the NBA.
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Walton has recently taken some heat over his lineups and rotations this season, but when a player like Kevin Durant says that he is doing a good job, that is certainly an eye-opener. On Wednesday, Walton will surely be trying to defeat his former team, as the Lakers play Durant and the Warriors.