I was glued to the TV in my living room celebrating Christmas with the family.
It was a scary moment with about seven minutes left in the third. The Lakers were up big on the Golden State Warriors in Oracle Arena. The Dubs are dangerous, they can get back into any ballgame thanks to their control of the three. Despite this, the Lakers were exhibiting every recognizable sign of a victory....then LeBron went to the locker room.
It was quickly reported that he had an injury to his left groin. The replay showed that he extended his leg awkwardly when sliding on the floor, and some lip-reading showed that LeBron said to the trainers, "I felt something pop".
Chaos ensued for a few minutes in the Lakersphere. The Lakers were about to pull off an upset against the overpowered champs and now LeBron was down hurt! Golden State immediately went on a run and cut a 10+ point lead down to three. Who was going to step up for them??? My senses were telling me Kyle Kuzma or Brandon Ingram. That would've been a welcome sight, but the truth is stranger than fiction. Rajon Rondo (15 pts, 5 rebs, 10 assists, 6/11) and Ivica freakin' Zubac (18 pts, 11 rebs, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 9/10) channeled the ghosts of Kobe and Shaq's careers and guided the ship home to a 26-point victory in Oracle Arena, 127-101. Check out the rhythm of the game and takeaways below.
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Game Recap
First Quarter
The atmosphere in Oracle was ELECTRIC before tipoff. The Lakers needed to come out strong or else Golden State was going to run them over this Christmas night. The Lakers hopped out to a 10-7 early lead but some defensive lapses led to open Warriors shots. Golden State held the narrow advantage heading into the first TV timeout, 13-14.
Out of that timeout, Curry hit a pretty turnaround for his second bucket of the game. After that, Ivica Zubac(who started in place of JaVale) took the ball from the wing and laid it in smooth! That was a play I had no idea he had in him - but the Lakers team scouts must've seen that potential when drafting. The teams traded threes in the ensuing possessions as the game stayed tight with under three minutes remaining, 25-23 Lakers lead. The Lakers bench mob came in and held down the ship, creating open looks en route to a seven-point advantage, 32-25.
Second Quarter
Bech units stayed in to start the second. Golden State still hadn't found their devastating shot yet. I couldn't believe my eyes, but Curry was throwing up air-balls while Lance Stephenson drained three's! What weird parallel universe were we living in? Lakers managed to maintain a five-point lead with eight minutes left to play, 40-35.
After a timeout, the five-point lead all of the sudden turned into eleven. LA continued to make tough shots while the Warriors kept making mistake after mistake. GS was just dreadful from the field. They threw up at least three airballs and we were only six and a half minutes into the second! Fifteen point Laker lead with four and half to play in the second, 52-37.
Things were rolling along heavily for the Lakers, but we all should've known better than to count the Warriors out. Golden State exploded out of the timeout for six unanswered points. Lonzo and Kuz took that to heart and responded with a transition alley-oop to stifle the Dubs momentum. LA held the Warriors at a stiff arms distance as the second quarter came to a close. I couldn't believe my eyes, but the Lakers were up fifteen heading into the third, 65-50.
Third Quarter
In the opening minutes of the third, Golden State pushed but they couldn't surpass the ten-point mark in the deficit. Brandon Ingram was doing his best on KD but he accrued four fouls only four minutes into the third. The Laker lead was fourteen but we had to call a break in the action. LeBron got hit in the nuts....and one couldn't help but assume Draymond was the culprit. 71-57 with 7:51 to play.
We looked at the replay and it actually wasn't a direct nut hit. LeBron dove for a ball and stretched his groin area....One could tell from lip reading that LeBron said to the trainers, "I felt a pop". He was then escorted to the locker room. Not a good sign for Laker fans! It was now last year's LeBron-less Lakers squad versus the Warriors in Oracle Arena.
Who was going to step up for the Lakers with LeBron out? My prime candidates were Kuzma and Ingram. Neither had yet to step up before Curry drained a three to shrink the lead to eleven. Here came the Warriors. Before we knew it Curry's shot feel, Durant was dunking, and the Lakers were only hanging on to a three-point game 76-73. Things were incredibly back-and-forth from there on out, but LA managed to go on a last-second run to push it to a nine-point game 91-82. Fourth Quarter time was upon us.
Fourth Quarter
LeBron was still out and questionable to return. That left Rajon Rondo as the man who would potentially bring the Lakers home. He executed things to early success as LA held a fifteen point lead. He was trying to pull every mind game in the book against Golden State. Stepping his foot over the line during jump balls, talking all that trash out of the side of his mouth. Basketball trickery was all the Lakers had left - they were outmatched on muscle and talent.
The Lakers were up eighteen with 7:30 to go, 103-85. Rondo and Zubac were stepping up to be LA's dynamic duo in the closing minutes. Rondo was directing traffic like a man with a neon vest at a broken light! He was burning clock like a day at the DMV while still making plays. Lakers pulled up a 22-point lead with 5:00 to play. After some more nail-biting possessions, Rondo and company made it 23 with under three minutes to play! Steve Kerr sent in the second and third stringers after that which singled the end to this ballgame. The bench mob piled it on and when all was said and done we had a 26-point Laker victory against the Golden State Warriors IN THEIR OWN FUCKING BUILDING
Takeaways
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WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When the Lakers do something good I obtain all the pride and cockiness of LaVar Ball and channel it towards my team
Most satisfying win of the season by far for me. That ain't no question. I've been looking forward to this game ever since I got the update that LeBron intended to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. I thought it'd come down to the wire and the usual suspects would carry this game home. A Rondo/Zubac tag team to pull away after losing LeBron to injury was near the bottom of my list of things I expected to happen.
Zubac continues to stun me. After looking like a fringe NBA player when given opportunities in the pre-Chandler days, Zu looks like a completely different player. The increase in effectiveness is shocking. They'll have a good problem on their hands when JaVale comes back from his sickness. The Lakers look like they now have three quality centers.
JaVale will get the nod back in the starting lineup, but do you start putting in Zubac before Chandler now? I think you do give Zubac the backup role after this incredible three-game performance. The young Croatian has now scored 16, 18 and 19 in his last three games with 11 rebounds in two of those. You obviously have to play it by matchup, but I say you keep rolling with Zubac until further notice. Zu has a young man's body fit for quicker defense. Chandler is still a good defensive anchor especially against a team that aims to bang down low.
Rajon Rondo though. Tonight he showed why his big-game experience and high IQ are valuable for a team trying to make noise in the playoffs. We've all heard of Playoff Rondo, but National TV Rondo and he are practically twins. Lonzo Ball isn't ready to lead a team to a 26-point victory on the road after losing LeBron and seeing a nineteen point lead turn down to three. He needs a couple more years of seasoning.
We still have to keep in mind that Lonzo only recently crossed the 82-game mark for his career games played. His ability to be ready for big moments in time will decide his fate on the LeBron James Lakers. If he isn't far along enough by the end of this year he could just be another interesting trade piece.
In other news, can we talk about how little of a shit the Warriors give during the regular season? A big reason they lost was because their trifecta of superstar shooters just couldn't buy a bucket tonight. Curry especially was missing wide-open looks that he would normally hit easily. We've seen a handful of teams really smack the Warriors in Oracle Arena this year. The Bucks came in and beat them by thirty, and now the Lakers pull this off without JaVale and LeBron for most of the second half. I still think they'll get it together when playoff time comes, but as of now they look like they're in an overall rut.
Another thing that stuck out to me was Draymond Green's ineffectiveness. Green fouled out after a horrific 4 point, 5 rebound, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2/7 performance. What the stat line doesn't show is how bad Draymond's shot looked. He was chucking it up from beyond the arc with that awkward form and it was either way too short or too long every time. He may still be fighting an injury, but many analysts have remarked that Draymond seems a step slow this year. Especially defensively. He didn't do a good job of slowing Zubac down in addition to putting up a bad offensive game. Given Dray's physical time in the post throughout his career, he may be the first Warrior to break down. It makes you wonder what kind of money he'll command on the open market when his contract runs up - or if the Warriors are fielding trade calls.
Tonight's victory was good for the Lakers, and for the suspense of the NBA. The league is seriously lacking in it when the Warriors are clicking on all cylinders. We can celebrate a return of the drama tonight, but we have to keep in mind that none other than Boogie Cousins is just waiting in the wings for the Warriors. The Warriors can have all their struggles right now, but a healthy Boogie Cousins will do wonders for their morale and momentum come springtime.
Thank you for reading and check out the highlights below
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