Game 53: 02/02/19 Lakers at Warriors GAME THREAD

Game 53: 02/02/19 Lakers at Warriors GAME THREAD

Postby KobeMVP888 » Sat Feb 02, 2019 5:18 am

(27-25) LAKERS AT WARRIORS (36-15)

Saturday, February 2, 2019, 5:30 PM PDT
ORACLE Arena • Oakland, CA

Referees: Mike Callahan (#24), Tyler Ford (#39), Mitchell Ervin (#27)

Replay Center: Tony Brown, Nick Buchert, Michael Smith

Line: Warriors -9.5

National TV: ABC

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GAME PREVIEW: LAKERS AT WARRIORS


by NBA.com

The Golden State Warriors will have two sources of motivation when they host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night in Oakland, Calif.

The Warriors were humbled on national television by the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night. Their 11-game winning streak came to an end in a 113-104 defeat in DeMarcus Cousins' home debut for Golden State.

The loss was just the Warriors' fourth since an equally disappointing 127-101 drubbing at the hands of James and the Lakers in the NBA's featured attraction on Christmas Day.

Los Angeles won the game going away despite the fact that James suffered a groin injury in the third quarter and watched the final 20 minutes, during which the Lakers added 12 points to their 71-57 lead.

James missed 17 games, during which the Lakers, who trailed the Warriors by just 2 1/2 games at the time, fell 10 1/2 games off the pace in the Pacific Division.

The Lakers trimmed one game off that deficit Thursday night, when they were celebrating James' return with a 123-120 overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers at the same time the Warriors were losing to the 76ers.

James was extended 40 minutes in the win, leading the victory with 24 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.

"I'm not feeling particularly great right now," James assured reporters after the marathon effort. "It's a little bit of everything. The groin is a little sore right now, but I already knew that. I hadn't played an NBA game in over a month, so I knew that was going to be a bit of a problem. My wind wasn't going to be where I wanted it to be, the timing on my shots (was off)."

James and the entire Lakers team got the day off Friday, other than to board a plane and make the one-hour flight north to Oakland.

The Warriors, meanwhile, were studying what went wrong in the loss to 76ers. One thing was obvious to Steve Kerr and his coaching staff: 15 turnovers, matching their most in the last 21 games.

"We weren't there mentally and we weren't there competitively and we got what we deserved," Kerr assessed to reporters. "They totally outplayed us in the second half. We should have had a much bigger lead at halftime, but we got really careless, and then they took it to us in the second half. We weren't ready. We didn't respond with competitive desire, intelligence and execution. We got what we deserved."

The Warriors hope to have Klay Thompson back for the Lakers after he missed Thursday's game with an illness.

Coincidentally, the absence came on the same day Thompson was selected to the All-Star team for a fifth consecutive season, joining Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.

Thompson had one of his worst games of the season in the Christmas Day game, held to five points on 2-for-7 shooting.

The Warriors did not have Cousins at the time, as he was still rehabbing a surgically repaired Achilles.

The Lakers also will have a big man available Saturday who wasn't in Oakland on Christmas. JaVale McGee was dealing with pneumonia at the time, forcing the Warriors to postpone a scheduled pregame ceremony to present him his 2018 championship ring.

That has been rescheduled for Saturday.

McGee made nine starts for the Warriors in the playoffs last season, including three in Golden State's four-game sweep of the James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.


http://www.nba.com/games/20190202/LALGSW#/preview
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Re: Game 53: 02/02/19 Lakers at Warriors GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Sat Feb 02, 2019 12:06 pm

LeBron James is back, and he has 30 games to help the Los Angeles Lakers sneak into the postseason. Despite a crucial win against the LA Clippers on Thursday, the Lakers would miss the cut if the season ended today.

James hasn't missed the playoffs since George W. Bush was president. It seems crazy that we are even discussing the fact that he might not be playing in late April. But if the past week has taught us anything, it's that the NBA is a crazy place right now.

The Lakers (27-25) are just one game out of the No. 8 spot in the stacked Western Conference, but there are three reasons to legitimately doubt their ability to pull this off.

1. Three other teams are fighting for that final spot.

The Lakers aren't playing in a vacuum, and they don't control their destiny. The Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are still in this hunt. If one of those squads rattles off a 20-10 run, the Lakers are in trouble.

The Clippers represent the biggest threat, not only because of their slim lead in the standings but also because of whom they play. ESPN's Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Clips with the 13th-hardest schedule the rest of the way. The Kings are at seventh, and the Wolves are fifth. (It's tough out West.)

By net rating, all four teams have been about average or worse over the past 15 games. LeBron's return would seemingly give the Lakers the edge going forward, but things aren't that simple.

2. This Lakers schedule is brutal.

Check out their next five games: at Golden State, at Indiana, at Boston, at Philadelphia and at Atlanta. If the Lakers go 1-4 on this pivotal swing, they'll be under .500 and even more desperate for every win after the All-Star break. Those wins won't come easily.

The Lakers have the third-hardest remaining schedule in the league, according to BPI. After the break, they play the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks twice, and they travel to Toronto, Utah and Oklahoma City. Yikes.

3. There's no guarantee LeBron will stay healthy.

The 2003 NBA draft was a long time ago. It's telling that LeBron is one of the last men standing from that class. Father Time is undefeated, and LeBron's groin injury didn't just deal a major blow to the Lakers' playoff chances. It also demonstrated that at 34, even this dude is mortal.

LeBron might not be close to retirement, but he isn't an indestructible iron man. With no room for error, it's imperative that James stays healthy. If he misses even a few more games this season, it could completely derail the Lakers' hopes. With James, this is a playoff-caliber squad. Without him, the Lakers are headed for the lottery.
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Re: Game 53: 02/02/19 Lakers at Warriors GAME THREAD

Postby 3Peatkb24 » Sat Feb 02, 2019 1:24 pm

lakerevolution wrote:LeBron James is back, and he has 30 games to help the Los Angeles Lakers sneak into the postseason. Despite a crucial win against the LA Clippers on Thursday, the Lakers would miss the cut if the season ended today.

James hasn't missed the playoffs since George W. Bush was president. It seems crazy that we are even discussing the fact that he might not be playing in late April. But if the past week has taught us anything, it's that the NBA is a crazy place right now.

The Lakers (27-25) are just one game out of the No. 8 spot in the stacked Western Conference, but there are three reasons to legitimately doubt their ability to pull this off.

1. Three other teams are fighting for that final spot.

The Lakers aren't playing in a vacuum, and they don't control their destiny. The Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are still in this hunt. If one of those squads rattles off a 20-10 run, the Lakers are in trouble.

The Clippers represent the biggest threat, not only because of their slim lead in the standings but also because of whom they play. ESPN's Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Clips with the 13th-hardest schedule the rest of the way. The Kings are at seventh, and the Wolves are fifth. (It's tough out West.)

By net rating, all four teams have been about average or worse over the past 15 games. LeBron's return would seemingly give the Lakers the edge going forward, but things aren't that simple.

2. This Lakers schedule is brutal.

Check out their next five games: at Golden State, at Indiana, at Boston, at Philadelphia and at Atlanta. If the Lakers go 1-4 on this pivotal swing, they'll be under .500 and even more desperate for every win after the All-Star break. Those wins won't come easily.

The Lakers have the third-hardest remaining schedule in the league, according to BPI. After the break, they play the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks twice, and they travel to Toronto, Utah and Oklahoma City. Yikes.

3. There's no guarantee LeBron will stay healthy.

The 2003 NBA draft was a long time ago. It's telling that LeBron is one of the last men standing from that class. Father Time is undefeated, and LeBron's groin injury didn't just deal a major blow to the Lakers' playoff chances. It also demonstrated that at 34, even this dude is mortal.

LeBron might not be close to retirement, but he isn't an indestructible iron man. With no room for error, it's imperative that James stays healthy. If he misses even a few more games this season, it could completely derail the Lakers' hopes. With James, this is a playoff-caliber squad. Without him, the Lakers are headed for the lottery.


Yeah our schedule will be very tough these last 30 games. LeBron has to stay healthy and play MVP type ball for us to get in. I still think we pass the Clippers and get in if LeBron stays healthy but it is not a guarantee. With LeBron I think we are better than the Clippers, Wolves, and Kings. If we sneak in I hope Denver ends up #1 and the Warriors #2. If play the Warriors in Round 1 we really have 0 chance.
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Re: Game 53: 02/02/19 Lakers at Warriors GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:38 pm

If we don't make a trade, does it hurt or help us to sneak in?
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Re: Game 53: 02/02/19 Lakers at Warriors GAME THREAD

Postby Lakers4Life » Sat Feb 02, 2019 8:19 pm

Lakers 83
Warriors 80

4:00 minutes left in the 3rd
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Re: Game 53: 02/02/19 Lakers at Warriors GAME THREAD

Postby 3Peatkb24 » Sun Feb 03, 2019 7:09 am

Did anyone have any idea that LeBron wasn't going to play? I did not but I missed the game. I seen where he was out again. I guess it doesn't matter because the Warriors will 3Peat anyway in the end.
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Re: Game 53: 02/02/19 Lakers at Warriors GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Sun Feb 03, 2019 9:39 am

The big news is the locker room blowup
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Re: Game 53: 02/02/19 Lakers at Warriors GAME THREAD

Postby 3Peatkb24 » Sun Feb 03, 2019 3:27 pm

lakerevolution wrote:The big news is the locker room blowup


What happened? ESPN doesn't have anything about it. By the way GO RAMS!
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Re: Game 53: 02/02/19 Lakers at Warriors GAME THREAD

Postby lakerevolution » Sun Feb 03, 2019 7:18 pm

ESPN reported it after the game and yesterday. Beasley, McGee and Lance all jawing with Luke. Almost went to blows, or so it was purported.
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