NBA: Defenseless Warriors Are a Perfect Cure for the Lakers' Preseason Ills
Imagine if the Los Angeles Lakers' entire preseason schedule consisted of games against the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors have a way of making teams feel better about themselves, and the Lakers were all smiles after Thursday night's 120-99 romp over Golden State, which was not even as close as the final 21-point margin.
Kobe Bryant sat this game out and the Lakers never needed him as the team used Golden State to find their offensive rhythm, and garner more confidence heading into Tuesday's regular season opener.
Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom dominated the interior, combining for 39 points and 19 rebounds, while Steve Blake and Shannon Brown led the Lakers' perimeter charge.
Blake was especially impressive, scoring 18 points and dishing out seven assists while looking totally comfortable running the Lakers' triangle offense.
Brown chipped in 13 points, five assists, and three steals of his own, as the Lakers placed five players in double figures and even allowed the rarely seen Luke Walton to join in the fun.
Walton came off the bench to score five points, and Sasha Vujacic returned from a recent concussion to score nine points off the bench.
You can never place to much stock in the NBA preseason, but after an offseason filled with questions about injuries to Bryant and Andrew Bynum, this was just the type of game the Lakers needed.
The Lakers were able to blow off a little steam with this win, and erase the sour taste left in their mouths by consecutive losses to the Utah Jazz.
This game was never really in doubt as the Lakers raced to a 11-0 lead, and never trailed in the contest.
The Lakers were full of good vibes by the time the final horn sounded, but the same cannot be said for the Warriors, who may have lost more than just the game.
Warriors' guard Stephen Curry scored a team high 19 points, but he was forced to the sidelines after spraining his ankle late in the fourth quarter.
His status for tonight's rematch against the Lakers is uncertain, but it won't matter if he plays or not if the Warriors can't find a way to improve their defense.
New Warriors' coach Keith Smart has a defensive reputation, but apparently the players are not buying into his philosophy, because the Warriors showed no improvement on that end of the court.
The excitement over the acquisitions of David Lee and Dorrell Wright was tempered by the fact that the Warriors are a team desperately searching for any type of defensive presence at all.
The Lakers constantly beat the quicker Warriors in the open court, and Gasol and Odom's dominance on the inside resembled a badly one-sided playground affair.
There were some hopes that the Warriors might actually challenge for a postseason berth, but without significant improvement on the defensive end, their future destination appears to be the NBA lottery.
The Lakers get one more chance to boost their egos against the Warriors on national television Friday night, and Bryant will more than likely sit that one out also.
Hopefully the last of the preseason cobwebs will be cleared up by then, because on Tuesday the Lakers open their season against Houston, who will likely show a little more resistance than the hapless Warriors.
