Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Lakers opened their season disastrously.
It began with a nearly 45-minute ceremony in which LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook had to watch Stephen Curry and their interstate rival Golden State Warriors receive their championship rings for their title run last season.
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That had to be painful for all involved but especially for James who now had a visual memory to go along with the fact now buried deep in his brain: he and Curry are now tied in rings won.
To add insult to injury, the Dubs then made quick work of LA, drubbing the Lakers in a double-digit rout for the majority of the game. It wasn’t until the final few minutes of the contest that LeBron and company were able to cut into the lead a bit. An Anthony Davis hook shot brought the lead within 13 points with a little over four minutes remaining.
Steph Curry quickly went on an eight-point scoring run though, ballooning the lead back to 16 points and sending LeBron out of the game for the remainder of the night.
The Lakers struggled on offense for the majority of the game. The roster’s lack of spacing and shooting talent were severely exposed by the Warriors and rookie Head Coach Darvin Ham will have his work cut out for him to find creative ways to prevent other opponents from clogging the paint and mitigating LA’s attack like Golden State did.
The Lakers won’t have much time to lick their wounds, though, as they’re set to face another title contender in the Western Conference on Thursday, October 20. They’ll be facing their intercity rivals in the Los Angeles Clippers’ season opener. Both of the Clippers’ star players, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, will be making their return to the court after injuries.
They’ll be returning to a new roster so may need some time to gel and find their chemistry together. That being said, the Clippers roster makes much more sense on paper than the Lakers’. Since the Lakeshow hasn’t exactly built much chemistry together either, neither team should have the advantage in this regard.
The contest will be a home game for the Lakers, but pretty much all games played between the Lakers and Clippers are home games for the Lakers. LeBron and company will be looking to get their first win of the season against a serious threat in the Western Conference to establish themselves as at least dark horse contenders this season. It will be a tall task against Kawhi and the Clips, though.
📲@DWS_Group | #WallpaperWednesday pic.twitter.com/P2taTV8Ok5
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 19, 2022
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| Title: Los Angeles Clippers vs Los Angeles Lakers Preview
| Author: Andy Quach
| Date: Oct 20, 2022