The Golden State Warriors had the statement win of their young season on Christmas Day, and did so while playing shorthanded.
The Warriors beat the Suns 116-107 to take control of the league’s best record. The win was made that much more impressive by the fact that Golden State was once again missing Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and Damion Lee to the COVID-19 protocols, Andre Iguodala with a knee issue, and Klay Thompson and James Wiseman who are still working their way back from long term issues.
At one point on Saturday, Chris Chiozza, Quinndary Weatherspoon, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Nemanja Bjelica and Jonathan Kuminga were sharing the floor.
Apparently, this is news to LeBron James, who claimed that the Warriors are one of the few teams at full strength, when speaking after another Lakers loss.
“Nobody’s gonna feel sorry for our record,” said James. “Nobody’s gonna for sorry for guys. Everybody, besides Golden State and Phoenix, everybody has guys out.”
LeBron can frame the situation however he wants, but the fact is that the Lakers are 16-18 with a -2.3 point differential, while the Warriors sit atop the Western Conference at 27-6.