Even when they aren’t at their best the Warriors are still finding ways to win basketball games. All that stands between Golden State and the NBA record for most wins to start a season is the 2-11 Los Angeles Lakers.
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LOOK AHEAD
The Lakers will get a good chance to bond as they begin a stretch where they play 10 of their next 11 games on the road. Their only home game in the run is Sunday against Indiana in the second of a back-to-back with Portland. LA will then hit the road playing eight games in 12 days with three sets of back-to-back games and no more than one day off between contests. The upcoming stretch would be a good time to fade the Lakers, who haven’t done well on the road this season. They may get better as the season progresses, but this is a difficult time for struggling team.
After finishing three games in four nights, the Warriors get a little breather with a day off before facing the Lakers and two days off following. The schedule hasn’t presented any problems yet for the Warriors, who overcame a sluggish first half to put the Nuggets away in Denver on Sunday.
INJURIES
D’Angelo Russell left Sunday’s game in the third quarter with a mildly sprained left ankle. He went to the locker room for treatment, got the ankle taped and returned to the game finishing with 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Forward Julius Randle played despite a sore big toe on his left foot.
Forward Jason Thompson was the only Warrior to not play on Sunday as interim coach Luke Walton made good use of his bench. Four reserves played double-digit minutes and the team remains in remarkably good health.
KEY MATCHUP
Golden State has leaned on its backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson for several seasons now and the duo led the Dubs to an NBA title last season. For an encore they are going for the first undefeated season in league history. Sarcasm aside, the Warriors are the better team and should win this game and the Splash Brothers will again play a large role in the outcome. Facing a young LA backcourt that features rookie D’Angelo Russell and second-year man Jordan Clarkson, the Dubs will dominate in the first meeting between the clubs. At this time last year Russell was leading the Ohio State Buckeyes and Clarkson was toiling in the D-League, while Curry and Thompson were breaking records for three-point shooting against NBA competition. The Lakers’ tandem may someday be pretty good, but right now, facing the undefeated Warriors and their mission to annihilate anything that stands in their way, I like the Splash Brothers to have a big night. Roy Hibbert and Julius Randle will take the low post away from Golden State and the Dubs will shoot daggers from the outside and beyond the arc. Curry sat the entire fourth quarter Sunday at Denver so he’ll be rested and itching to go after his first below 20-point game, and the Lakers are the unfortunate opponent standing in his way.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
When asked about the upcoming matchup with the Warriors, Kobe Bryant said he’s seen stranger things happen. Sure enough, the Lakers defeated the Warriors last season in an early-season matchup, but that was at the Staples Center and Golden State wasn’t gunning for NBA history. The Dubs are laser focused and they will lose a few games, we’re just not sure when. They are healthy, the bench gets plenty of playing time to keep the starters rested and themselves happy and they just win. It really is hard to imagine them dropping a game to the Lakers, but then again nobody gave the 1980 US Olympic hockey team a shot at beating the Russians, and look what happened there. Those upsets are extremely rare and while not the same magnitude, it’s pretty close. But the Dubs aren’t going to let the Lakers get in their way no matter what Kobe does.
Golden State 123, Los Angeles 105
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