After months of waiting, fans were finally treated to a Los Angeles Lakers game as they opened the preseason up in the Bay Area against the Golden State Warriors.
However, without LeBron James and Austin Reaves in the lineup the Lakers predictably struggled and lost to the Warriors 125-108.
With James and Reaves on the bench, Darvin Ham went with a starting lineup of Gabe Vincent, D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura and Anthony Davis. Despite the talk about two-big lineups, Ham still opted to have Davis at center.
Davis has been pining to play more power forward, but he’s clearly tailor-made to play center because he was able to pick up where he left off from the last time he faced the Warriors. Golden State’s front court had no answer for Davis, who bullied them with his size and mobility to get to the cup.
The most encouraging thing about the star big man’s performance was his willingness to shoot from beyond the arc as he drained two of his three attempts. Ham and the coaching staff saw enough, though, as he was pulled from the game at halftime.
Davis finished the night with 15 points, and five rebounds in 13 minutes, only playing the first half.
Russell looked like he was in regular season form as he was one of the only other reliable scoring options for Los Angeles. Russell looked in control for most of his minutes, picking his spots wisely and moving the ball around.
Like Davis, Russell only played in the first half but that was enough for him to record 15 points and five assists.
The most impressive Laker of the night, though, was Max Christie, who carried his momentum over from Summer League. Christie was the first sub off the bench and was aggressive looking for his shots.
In the second half, Christie decided to take on more scoring responsibility as he handled the ball more and called his own number when the play broke down. Christie tied Davis and Russell for scoring leader with 15 points while also adding two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
For the Warriors, Jonathan Kuminga led the way with 24 points in just 23 minutes of action off the bench.
What’s next for Lakers
The Lakers will continue their preseason slate on Monday when they take on the Brooklyn Nets in Las Vegas. They’ll then return home to Southern California in Anaheim to play the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
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