3 questions for LA Lakers entering opening night of the 2021-22 NBA season
The LA Lakers are all set to play the Golden State Warriors on the opening night of the 2021-22 NBA regular season. Showtime is coming off of a humiliating 0-6 loss record from pregames. With a roster full of fresh players, it is understandable that the Los Angeles team will need time to adjust.
However, six games is a decent number of games for any team to figure out which lineups perform well with the players at hand. Frank Vogel failed to figure out potential lineups and gameplans and the LA Lakers were defeated by the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets and Warriors.
Jordan Poole kept up his scoring exploits while Steph Curry was his usual self in the Warriors’ 114-121 home win vs. the Lakers 💥 https://t.co/tCQNmx4wWu
With an average regular season and a disappointing playoffs season behind them, LeBron and Co have assembled a squad that is, although formidable on paper, but has an average age of 30+ years. In fact, only five of the 16 players on the roster are in their 20s, of which Anthony Davis will turn 29 by March. This may prove to be an issue for a team that has claimed time and again to be in the process of creating championship contenders.
As they prepare to clash with the team they defeated in the play-in tournament to reserve a birth for the playoffs, there are three essential questions Vogel and the LA Lakers must figure out the answers to.
#3 How will the LA Lakers contain Stephen Curry
Ok. Here’s two minutes of Steph Curry cooking Anthony Davis. twitter.com/washedbev/stat… https://t.co/EA8Dn6UIvh
Stephen Curry is not a "put a double team on him and forget about it" player. He is a punisher of teams that leave him even a tiny bit unguarded. After a sensational 2020-21 regular season where Curry led the league in points scored and three-pointers made, he has used the preseason to let the league know that he is out for blood and the LA Lakers may very well be his first victim.
The LA squad has brilliant offensive weaponry, has sensational rim defenders and has found a decent three-point depth, but it still lacks a defender capable of stopping a versatile beyond-the-arc shooter like Steph.
Some may argue that Anthony Davis holds the potential to stop the Warriors' live and active nuke. But if we look at the last six games the two have played against each other, Curry has averaged 32 points per game. If the LA Lakers need to find a winning chance against GSW, it is imperative that they decipher a means to contain the maestro from the Bay Area.
Also Check Out: Complete NBA TV Schedule for 2021-22 Season