Game 39: 03/15/21 Lakers at Warriors GAME THREAD

[KobeMVP888]

(25-13) LAKERS AT WARRIORS (20-19)

Monday, March 15, 2021, 7:30 PM PDT
Chase Center, San Francisco, CA

Referees: Zach Zarba (#15), Ben Taylor (#46), Haywoode Workman (#66)

Replay Center: JB DeRosa, Brett Nansel, Jason Goldenberg

Line: Lakers -2.5
O/U: 224

National TV only: ESPN



GAME PREVIEW: LAKERS AT WARRIORS: No more injuries, please

by Christian Rivas, @RadRivas, silverscreenandroll.com

The NBA All-Star Break was supposed to be an opportunity for the Los Angeles Lakers to get the rest they needed to get healthy for the final stretch of the season. While that may have been the case for them, the injury report is already starting to pile up again.

At practice on Saturday, Frank Vogel announced that Marc Gasol and Kostas Antetokounmpo will miss at least the next two games due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Then, later in the day, the team announced that Alex Caruso had been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol after suffering a head contusion against the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

But the biggest injury news from the Lakers’ locker room came on Sunday, when the team announced that Jared Dudley had suffered a torn MCL. Dudley missed Friday’s game with a right knee contusion, but further testing revealed a right MCL tear.

Suffice to say, the Lakers will be going into their final matchup of the season with the Golden State Warriors on Monday a little shorthanded and the Warriors are coming off of an impressive win over the Utah Jazz. If the Lakers can overcome their injuries and beat the Warriors on Monday, though, they’ll retake the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets coming up. Let’s call it a golden opportunity.

Notes and updates

- LeBron James (sore left ankle) and Kyle Kuzma (right heel contusion) are probable.

- Kostas Antetokounmpo (health and safety protocols), Alex Caruso (mild concussion), Anthony Davis (right calf strain), Jared Dudley (right MCL tear) and Marc Gasol (health and safety protocols) are out.

https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/202 ... y-mcl-tear

[lakerevolution]

The Warriors are a "test" or "trap" team for us right now. Our guys (Kuz, Montrezl, Schroeder, KCP) are capable of out-muscling and scoring against Curry's supporting cast. We shut them down last time. We actually slaughtered them. Without AD, LeBron has to be the difference - not necessarily scoring but distribution, QBing, hitting the boards and defending. It's a make-or-miss league, so if our shots are falling we should be ok.

[lakerevolution]

Superbly balanced scoring!! Everyone who has been on the floor has scored except McKinnie, we're shooting 68% from the field including 60% from downtown. Harrell is beasting with 19 in the first half. Still, a 15-point lead is not enough. Whatever we're doing defensively we have to keep up.

[lakerevolution]

"The lone black mark on the Lakers’ performance was their inability to take care of the ball as they had 19 turnovers on the night, including six from James and four from Dennis Schroder. But when the Lakers were able to take care of the ball, they were absolutely scorching. As a team, the Lakers shot 62.8% from the field and 40.7% from 3-point range.

Second-year guard Talen Horton-Tucker had a great night as well with a career-high 18 points. He also added in 10 assists for his first career double-double. Meanwhile, Kyle Kuzma continued his string of excellent performances with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

In what was undoubtedly an outstanding sight for Lakers fans everywhere, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had his best showing in a couple of weeks, finishing with 14 points and four rebounds while knocking down 3-of-4 of his shots from deep."

Gotta LOVE Vogel for having the squad operate like this. He clearly knows how to exploit the Warriors and hopefully that defensive, shot-creating mindset will be our calling card the rest of the season. We need to stay healthy and play focused until AD returns, and after that we will see a team that is ready to take back the #1 seed and repeat!!!

[KobeMVP888]

Let's hope that all the upcoming scrimmages work out like this one until AD returns to the lineup.

Would you give up Trezz, KCP and THt for the possibility of reuniting Myles Turner and Frank Vogel long term? Just spit ballin'!

[lakerevolution]

Let's hope that all the upcoming scrimmages work out like this one until AD returns to the lineup.

Would you give up Trezz, KCP and THt for the possibility of reuniting Myles Turner and Frank Vogel long term? Just spit ballin'!

Keep that spit in your mouth.