It took five years, but we finally got Stephen Curry and LeBron James in a series together. While this Warriors-Lakers second-round matchup was billed to be all about those two, Game 1 was about almost everyone else.
Anthony Davis had his way with Golden State and the size from the visitors presented some major issues. A near-heroic Warriors comeback came up short in a 117-112 loss, leaving Golden State in a 1-0 deficit.
The late fourth quarter
The Warriors almost came back. They were down by as much as 14 in the fourth. Then they started chipping.
Stephen Curry got hot. They started to get stops. The rebounds went their way. They tied it up inside the final two minutes.
But that was as far as it went. D’Angelo Russell hit a jumper to put the Lakers up by two. Curry and Poole both missed shots.
The Lakers, though, weren’t capitalizing. James went 1-of-2 at the line and missed half a dozen would-be nail-in-the-coffin jumpers.
When his attempt missed and Curry rebounded it with 17.9 seconds left on the clock, there was that air of something magical potentially about to happen.
He drove across half court, got doubled, and instead of calling a timeout, the ball found its way to Poole. He launched, bricked it, and that was that.
Golden State will lament how far they came and how short came up. There was a lot left out there, and if a few of those rebounds by Anthony Davis found their way to Kevon Looney, it may have been a different story.
Oh, and Curry might need to play more than 38 minutes. Davis played 44. James played 40. The Warriors’ best player probably needs to see 40 minutes a game in this series.
Anthony Davis and Lakers’ size
What was clear very early on is that it’s not just LeBron vs. Curry. The Lakers are Anthony Davis’ team.
When you watch them, James often sinks into the background. He’s patient, often facilitating and biding his time. Davis, meanwhile, is always visible.
He was dominant on Tuesday night, with 30 points (11-of-19, hit all 8 free throws), 23 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks. His shot deterrence was more than those blocks, too.
Kevon Looney was excellent as a rebounder, but so was Davis. And Davis’ rebounds seemed to be far closer to the energy-evaporators that Looney was getting last round than the ones Looney secured in this series opener.
Part of the Lakers’ recipe is just that they have size. They are much bigger than Golden State, dominated by a roster full of wings, many of whom they acquired as throwaways in the ridiculously favorable D’Angelo Russell trade.
Some of the matchups are wonky for the Warriors. Curry ends up guarding Austin Reaves or Jarred Vanderbilt, both of which are serious size disadvantages.
Reaves was also excellent as a defender, frequently contesting Klay Thompson’s shots closely while he was in a mid-game cold streak (had 25 points on 9-of-25 shooting and 6-of-16 from deep).
Los Angeles just put Golden State through a blender of unceasing screens on the offensive end that seems like it will wear on the Warriors over this series.
In terms of roster construction, it’s also worth mentioning that there was a real parallel universe thing going on with Russell and Jordan Poole.
Both are microwave scorers who have the ability to facilitate efficiently, but with some dreadful tendencies. Poole’s defensive drawbacks and boneheaded fouls are more glaring than Russell’s at this point.
But they occupy very similar roles on both these teams. Poole had 21 points and 6 assists. Russell had 19 points and 6 assists. Golden State got rid of him and found themselves something similar.
The Lakers, though, are able to afford Russell a bit more than the Warriors can afford Poole, given the size elsewhere. Poole had a chance to counter Russell’s lead-taking shot and send the game to overtime. He didn’t, but this loss is not on his shoulders.
Poole didn’t turn the ball over once. Curry, though thermonuclear in the fourth, had five turnovers and was 10-of-24 from the floor (6-of-13 from 3-point range) with 27 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Golden State will need to convert at a higher clip and avoid fouling the Lakers nearly as much as they did on Tuesday night.
Totally different approaches
This is an odd matchup. These teams are not built the same way. And they certainly don’t operate in styles that mirror each other.
You could see it clearly in the first half. It felt like the Warriors were playing the better basketball, but the score was always within a couple points in either direction.
Anthony Davis was monstrously good, boxing out Kevon Looney in ways that Domantas Sabonis consistently failed to do. He had 23 points (9-of-10, 5-of-5 from FT line) and 11 rebounds in the first half.
Looney still got his rebounds, but not in the same back-breaking fashion that he’d done to the Kings. There were a handful of times defensive rebounds slipped out his fingers and into Davis’ for chances that could have been nixed.
The method of scoring from these teams couldn’t have been more different. The Lakers are methodical, all about getting to the free throw line.
Before the final minute of the half, Los Angeles had a 17-0 free throw advantage. They made all but one of them. That free throw advantage was damning. The Lakers went 25-of-29 at the line. The Warriors were 5-of-6.
Golden State, meanwhile, went 13-of-30 from 3-point range. The Lakers were 1-of-8 from there in the first half.
It presented a concerning proposition for the Warriors. They struggle to get to the free throw line. And while the Lakers are a pretty poor 3-point shooting team, it’s hard to think they’d miss that consistently in the second half. Los Angeles got to a 1-of-11 mark from 3-point range, then hit their next three attempts.
The difference in scoring approaches wil