The Lakers brought a “Warriors” mentality to the Staples Center
It seemed every basket was assisted by various playmakers. This is what the Lakers have been preaching all year-long, but this is one of the few games where the Lakers fans got to see it when it really works.
"“It felt like it was skipping around out there until it hit Kuz’s hand and would go up every time.” — Walton on his team’s ball movement."
This is what makes the Golden State Warriors so dangerous. Do the Lakers have that type of talent? No. But any defense can be broken down with quick ball movement. All night long the Lakers eliminated a potential matchup problem that could have been created by Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond with their size. Blake Griffin was not a factor in this game and for the first time in his career had zero rebounds in this game. Plus the ball movement opened things up for Kyle Kuzma’s explosion.
Speaking of Kuzma, he raised some eyebrows talking about a “Death lineup” meaning the Lakers had a small ball lineup that would give opponents major problems. Many an eyebrow was raised.
I just rolled my eyes considering that it hadn’t worked at all this season.
But…
If the ball was moving like it was in this game to the point that the team can tally 30 assists on a regular basis. He may be on to something here.