As expected, the Golden State Warriors dominated the new-look Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA’s second game of the 2022-23 season. Also as expected, Lakers fans and media pundits immediately blamed Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James (in that order) for the blowout loss to the Warriors.
Lakers fans, don’t let the respectable final score of 123-109 deceive you: the game was over midway through the third quarter. The Lakers got ran out of the gym not because of anything Westbrook, AD, or LeBron did (or did not do).
The Lakers did not lose because Westbrook looked like a soulless shell of himself out there; they did not lose because AD and LeBron were stat-padding in the second half.
They lost because their role players did not get the job done! The stars are supposed to make the big moments. The role players make the little moments that make those big moments possible.
Very few of the “little” moments happened in the Lakers’ loss to the Warriors. The role players who helped the Lakers win a championship in the 2019-20 season are long gone. The personnel has changed drastically each offseason since winning the championship.
The constant personnel changes have rendered the Lakers a shell of their championship-caliber shelves. Only time can develop team chemistry on this team. As their rotations coalesce under new Head Coach Darvin Ham, the Lakers should look for trends within these games to determine how they want to move forward.
Without further ado, here are three observations from Opening Night that should concern Lakers fans everywhere.
1.Kendrick Nunn was a mixed bag playing alongside the Lakers big three
Kendrick Nunn was the only player who made any real impact besides the Westbrook/Davis/James trio. Nunn’s 13 points in a little over 23 minutes of action were more than his point total for all of last season.
He is theoretically a great fit to play alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. Nunn shot an amazing 42.1% from three-point range in catch-and-shoot scenarios in his last full season with the Miami Heat, a skill that is required when playing with any of these three players.
In the Chase Center, his three-point shooting was hotter than a Labor Day Weekend spent in Death Valley. I think there is real potential if Nunn can continue to shoot the ball at this level.
Kendrick Nunn looked really solid in his return last night after missing the entire 2021-22 season. He dropped 13 points on 5-9 shooting including 3-6 from deep. pic.twitter.com/pNchtb5JES
— Finn Kuehl (@finleykuehl) October 19, 2022
After he missed all of last season, this is a well-deserved Lakers debut for him. It is a small victory in the midst of a pretty big defeat for the Lakers. He is going to have an extremely crucial role on the Lakers this season, but he got punished on the defensive end of the court.
The Warriors were constantly targeting him by putting him in endless screens involving Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole, who both attacked him constantly off the dribble. On-ball defense is the last thing that comes back to an NBA player after an extended absence, especially one that was caused by a serious leg injury.
The four-man lineup featuring all of Nunn, Westbrook, James, and Davis was the second-worst lineup deployed against the Warriors. They got outscored by a total of 13 points in nearly a quarter of action sharing the court, scoring a respectable 27 points but giving up a staggering 40 points in their shared minutes together.
That’s not a good sign! The Lakers’ “best” four-man lineup is getting run out of the gym! The Lakers need actual success on the court; not what looks good on paper.
The Lakers are going to have a long season if Nunn is not enough of an offensive asset and too much of a defensive liability. I hope his defensive performance is a blip in an otherwise excellent two-way season for the former Miami Heat starting point guard.