3 alarming observations about the Lakers role players

2. Stephen Curry outscored the entire Lakers supporting cast!

Stephen Curry outscored all the Lakers players not named LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook by one point (the final tally was 33-32). What is especially concerning is that Curry did not have a particularly good night shooting the ball: 10-22 from the field and 4-13 from deep is not a stat line worthy of arguably the greatest shooter in NBA history.

Curry got his numbers only because he was just steady throughout the game. He had four points by the end of the first quarter. He had 29 in the last three quarters. He relentlessly attacked the basket in the fourth quarter when he knew his three-point shot wasn’t falling.

Curry does not get anywhere near enough credit for his finishing ability at the basket. He put Anthony Davis, once an elite rim protector, in the spin cycle.

There is no shame in Curry dominating the Lakers’ defense. There is shame in Curry outscoring 11 Lakers players combined who played in that same game.

How did the Lakers’ role players fare? Not as terrible as I thought. They shot 11-34 from the field and 6-24 from three-point range. Kendrick Nunn’s excellent shooting night made these figures somewhat respectable for a bad NBA offense.

I thought it’d be closer to something like 1-25 after watching the game. It looked as if they were frozen by Queen Elsa herself every time they touched the ball, or as if they are JV basketball players getting their first minutes on Varsity.

This probably never would have happened last season. The Lakers are really missing Carmelo Anthony and Malik Monk right now.

Monk is long gone, having signed with the Sacramento Kings this offseason. The Lakers should bring back Anthony immediately.

What are they waiting for?