LOS ANGELES – Before Tuesday, the Lakers had three games remaining in their regular season schedule and they needed to make them all count in order to secure the easiest path to the playoffs. But with Anthony Davis out, that goal fell through and the Warriors trounced the Lakers in a 134-120 win.
Davis and LeBron James were both questionable and game-time decisions, leaving many Lakers fans worried about the team’s chance to take down the Warriors for a fourth time in 2023-24 James literally told reporter Dave McMenamin before the game “I’m about to find out” as to whether or not he’d play, which he did end up doing, dropping 33 points to go with 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Davis was ruled out due to nausea and a headache. His absence, especially on defense, was crucial to the Warriors success. Golden State launched a season-high 26 three-pointers in the win. Klay Thompson led the team in points with 27, including and five threes.
Per usual, Stephen Curry led the team in made three-pointers with six and finished with 23 points, but Draymond Green’s statline raised some eyebrows. The 34-year-old power forward turned back the clock with a 15-point, 10-assist and six-rebound performance. He accumulated those 15 by shooting five-for-seven from deep, setting a personal season record for threes.
Besides James for the Lakers, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves stepped up nicely on offense, as they both finished with 20 or more points. Even Jaxon Hayes made the most of a rare opportunity in the starting lineup, finishing with 11 points and six rebounds and shooting five-for-six from the field.
On the other hand, D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince had abysmal outings shooting-wise, going three-for-11 and one-for-six from the field respectively. Along with Prince, the bench failed to produce much in the game. Spencer Dinwiddie was the Lakers’ only bench player who had a solid game, finishing with 12 points. Dinwiddie aside, the Lakers’ bench combined for eight points.
Without Davis, the Lakers looked like a shell of themselves defensively. Sure, the team is prioritizing health instead of aiming for a higher seed now that their spot in the postseason is secured, but allowing Green to torch them from beyond the arc is worrying no matter what.
Next, the Lakers will play the Memphis Grizzlies and current six-seed New Orleans to round out their season. The Sacramento Kings, who hold a half-game lead over the Lakers for the eighth seed, play the Pelicans, Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers to close their regular season schedule.
After the Lakers’ loss to the Warriors, it’ll be more difficult to see them passing the Kings to potentially play one fewer play-in game. The Kings, however, are .500 in their last ten games and the pendulum could swing away from their favor as they play the Pelicans and Suns, who are fighting for a higher playoff spot.
A more realistic expectation is that the Lakers win both of their remaining games, but the Kings also win two of their three remaining games. This would give the teams the same record, but since the Lakers haven’t defeated the Kings once this season, Sacramento would hold the tiebreaker.
In order to make a deep playoff run like they accomplished last season, the Lakers should focus on ensuring James and Davis are fully healthy for the postseason. They can beat the Warriors or Suns if needed, but they’ll need to get over the hill of the Kings —which the Lakers have struggled with this season — if the two teams end up facing off against each other.
The Lakers will play the Grizzlies in Memphis on Friday, April 12 at 5 p.m., where Davis should hopefully be back to give Los Angeles a much-needed boost.