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Before I get started, I know I gotta drop the health disclaimers
The Golden State Warriors walked into Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday without their starting small forward, their starting center, their starting shooting guard, and the backup behind him. Jimmy Butler is still rehabbing the ACL, Kristaps Porzingis is out with an injury that none of my buddies can explain, Brandin Podziemski’s back flared up, and Moses Moody is months away after patellar tendon repair. Steph Curry even played on a sprained right ankle.
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But there was still plenty to glean from that opening game, and that 127-105 final provides some clues about what the Lakers are capable of. For most of the last decade, they were the franchise standing outside GSW’s party, pressing their face against the glass. Wednesday night felt like the first time they looked back through it at the Dubs, with a vengeance.
The big man Walker Kessler kicked in the door in his first game with the Lake Show, going 12-for-12 from the field for 26 points and nine rebounds in his Lakers debut. The only Laker with a cleaner night was Wilt Chamberlain going 14-for-14 in 1969. The highlight to take away from him last night was Luka lobbing it up and Kessler slamming it home with the Warriors spending the rest of the night watching the sequel and the director’s cut.
Every time a Lakers guard turned the corner, the Warriors had to choose between stopping the ball and staying home on the big man. With Porzingis in street clothes there was no seven-footer back there to make that choice easier. Too often they got caught in between, and Kessler spent the night catching lobs like Randy Moss.
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Then there’s Luka Doncic giving Yaxel Lendeborg a taste of professional basketball, combining shotmaking and foulbaiting to a degree that drove the rookie mad. Luka finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, was a plus-31 in 29 minutes. When a star player gets to eat popcorn for the final minutes of opening night, you got whooped.
It’d be a shame not to mention the impact from Luka’s backcourt mate Austin Reaves, who put up 23 points and six assists and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/luka-era-lakers-showed-vs-231113223.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-22 23:11:00
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