The Los Angeles Lakers opened the season on the road against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night and things looked to be more of the same. Los Angeles looked like it played game 83 from last season as the same uninspiring basketball that was present last season was once against on our television screens.
Any optimism that fans might have had for the 2022-23 season quickly faded as most of the fanbase turned to social media to collectively complain about the team. It is hard to blame them, as things have been ugly for quite some time now.
That being said, there are some optimistic positives that fans can take away from this game. Sometimes, all it takes is some long-term thinking to get through the really ugly stretches.
3 optimistic positives that Lakers fans can take away after Warriors loss:
1. The Warriors are the defending champions, after all
Anyone expecting the Lakers to play like a contender with this current roster construction is just asking to be disapppointed. This is a play-in team through and through and the Warriors are simply on another level right now as the defending NBA Champions.
Every loss stings but the Lakers were competitive for big chunks of this game. Golden State didn’t play optimally in the first half, which helped, but this game was close after two-quarters of play. Outside of the Warriors’ insane third-quarter run, the Lakers didn’t seem to be that far behind the Warriors.
Granted, the pressure is off when you play with a big lead, especially when the bench unit is out there. But there are a lot of teams in the league that would lose even worse to this Warriors team, so Lakers fans can at least hang their hats on that.
2. LeBron James and Anthony Davis did play well
The Los Angeles Lakers are built around one of the best duos in the league in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. This duo does have some long-term question marks with LeBron’s age and AD’s injury history but when they are playing and it is right, it is fun to watch.
At the very least, Lakers fans got to see these two star players play a good brand of basketball. It was not perfect but it shows that if the front office can just get the right pieces around them that they can still make noise in the playoffs.
The problem in this game was that the role players simply did not help at all, which is not a surprise in the slightest. Lakers not named LeBron James, Anthony Davis, or Russell Westbrook scored a combined 22 points in this game. That is simply not good enough.
LeBron led all Lakers with 31 points to go along with 14 rebounds and eight assists. He was efficient from the field at 12-25 but did make only three of his 10 shots from beyond the arc. That is where the Lakers are at. LeBron has to take 10 threes per game.
Davis scored 27 points on 10-22 shooting with six boards and four steals. He still proved that he is not a threat from downtown, as he missed all three of his three-point attempts.
Again, it was not perfect, but if you are getting around 60 points from two players you should be able to win basketball games with the right help around them. Which leads us to the final thing to be optimistic about.
3. The uglier it is the quicker the Lakers will trade Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook actually was not that bad in this game. There were some classic Westbrook moments that were frustarting to watch but overall, his play was not the direct reason why the Lakers lost this game.
That being said, him being on the team still is the reason why the Lakers lost. The blame has never solely been just on Westbrook but on the circumstances that trading for him created. Los Angeles has no depth because of his massive contract and the floor spacing is a joke because they have too many “stars” who cannot shoot thress on the floor.
Charles Barkley said it best during halftime. Both Westbrook and the Lakers would benefit from a trade and the uglier things are early in the season, the quicker Rob Pelinka is going to feel the pressure to move him (probably for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner).
If the Lakers are just a middling team then Pelinka will convince himself to wait until the deadline and then pull the trigger on a trade then. However, if things are really ugly early on then a move could some sooner as Pelinka looks to save the season before it becomes lost.
LeBron James is already burying this Lakers roster
The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Golden State Warriors on opening night and LeBron James did not take long to bury the team's roster.
While it is painful to watch these ugly losses as a fan, the one thing that fans can bank on is the fact that every ugly loss puts the team closer to maximizing its potential this season.