"We got a recipe for disaster... The biggest shock to me last night was that Russell Westbrook started the game" - NBA analyst highlights several flaws in LA Lakers' opening game against the Golden State Warriors
The LA Lakers had hopes of dampening the Golden State Warriors' ring ceremony on opening night. Instead, they came away licking their wounds after a 123-109 defeat.
The Lakers shot just 43 per cent from the floor and only 10-of-40 from long-range in the contest.
LeBron James finished with 31 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, but made only three of his 10 shots from downtown. Russell Westbrook had a double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds) but hit only one 3-point shot in the contest. Anthony Davis had 27 points and six rebounds but couldn't hit the target from downtown on any one of his three attempts.
In addition to the underwhelming shooting from long-range, the LA Lakers also committed 21 turnovers in the game.
The result had long-time NBA commentator Skip Bayless launch an immediate attack on LeBron James and the LA Lakers. Speaking on the latest episode of Undisputed, Bayless was severely critical of the team's long-range shooting. He said:
"The biggest problem, if I can just do little picture last night, was LeBron James attempted 10 three-point shots. I told you last year, he was a career-high eight 3-pointers a game. It's way too many for him because by his standards... he is a lousy 3-point shooter."
Bayless then turned his attention to the purple-and-gold franchise's struggles with handling the ball. He added:
"The other problem is LeBron James turned it over five times. Russ turned it over four times... We got a recipe for disaster here. Remember, last year they averaged 14 turnovers a game. That was the third worst in basketball. They had 21 last night. Fourteen was the third worst, what do you think 21 is going to be?
"So if you're going to be the worst three-point shooting team, led by LeBron James, and you're going to lead the league in turnovers and you could be one of the worst defensive teams... that's not very good."
Bayless, however, reserved his most scathing comments for Westbrook. He said:
"The bigger problem and where I feel sorry for him [LeBron] is, the biggest shock to me last night was that Russell Westbrook started the game."
The Lakers’ shooting woes lead to a 123-109 season opener loss to the Warriors:
"The problem is LeBron is taking too many shots. The other problem is LeBron turning the ball over five times and Russ four times. We got a recipe for disaster." — @RealSkipBayless https://t.co/jTITDN7t0J
LA Lakers in dire need to add snipers to roster after miserable performance from 3-point line
Last season, the LA Lakers shot 34.7 percent from downtown, ranking among the bottom 10 teams in this category. If they continue their woeful 3-point shooting form from opening night, they could well finish among the basement dwellers in this category yet again.
LeBron James spoke about this aspect of the LA Lakers' roster makeup in his post-game media interaction. He said:
"We're getting great looks, but it could also be teams giving us great looks. I mean, if you be completely honest, we're not a team that constructed of great shooting. That's just the truth of the matter.
"It's not like we're sitting here with a lot of lasers on our team, but that doesn't deter us from still trying to get great shots, when you get those opportunities you take them. But we're not sitting here with a bunch of 40-plus career three-point shooting guys."
You can listen to LeBron James' full media interaction in the video below.