Warriors vs. Lakers preview: moral victories fine. Actual victories better.
The Warriors almost pulled off an upset in their Feb. 8th matchup against the Lakers.
GAME DETAILS
WHO: Golden State Warriors (12-46) vs Los Angeles Lakers (44-12)
WHEN: Thursday, February 27, 7:30 p.m. PT
WATCH: TNT
Season Series: Lakers lead 2-0
TICKETS: Buy tickets on StubHub
The Golden State Warriors have lost seven straight games entering Thursday’s contest against the west-leading Los Angeles Lakers. They’ve also lost their last seven at home. In their Feb. 8th matchup against the Lakers, the Warriors fought and hung with the Lakers, before losing by only five points.
Andrew Wiggins impressed in his Warriors debut, scoring 24 points on 8-12 shooting. Wiggins was also solid defensively, recording five steals, a block and holding his own when guarding Anthony Davis.
On three different occasions during the game, Davis went against Wiggins on switches. He scored only once on a well contested shot with under four minutes left in the game. Wiggins showed toughness when Davis bumped him to get separation and put up a strong contest before Davis scored on the middy.
Marquese Chriss led the Dubs in scoring with 26 points.
As a team, the Warriors even out-hustled the Lakers in various points during the game. The Dubs forced 15 of the Lakers 24 turnovers. They won the battle in assists (31), Steals, (15) and blocks(6) and shot well from the field, but just couldn’t close it out.
Three weeks later, the Warriors are eager to snap a seven-game skid before Stephen Curry likely returns to the lineup on Sunday. In a season with nothing to play for and nothing to lose, an upset on Thursday would easily be the Warriors most impressive win. With that in mind, and the star power of Davis and LeBron James on display, it’s a pretty exciting game.
In order for the Warriors to win, they need to remember what they have done in the last matchup and keep that same energy. They need to out-hustle the Lakers like they did before. Force the issue on defense like before, and also battle for those rebounds and second-chance points.
Offensively, the Warriors need to be purposeful in their shot selection. In their recent games, Golden State had the habit of jacking up and settling for threes despite struggling resulting in empty possessions. While they should take the open three, they shouldn’t force the issues when they aren’t falling.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. PT, and the game is televised on TNT.
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