Golden State Drubbing

By: Peyton Schultze

In one of their best performances of the season, the Lakers destroyed the defending champion Warriors on Christmas Night.

In the full-to-capacity ORACLE Arena on Tuesday night, the Lakers faced the mighty Golden State Warriors in what was expected to be their toughest challenge of the year on the biggest stage on Christmas Day. Yet what followed was anything but truly expected.

In a 127-101 victory for the Lakers in Oakland, the Lakers made a statement to the rest of the NBA that they are not only a threat to be reckoned with in the Western Conference, but throughout the league. By dominating the 2018 NBA champs throughout the night and being able to respond to every Warriors’ rally in the game, the Lakers put together their best game of the season thus far that showed how far this team has come under the direction of head coach, Luke Walton.

However, one of the most daunting tasks in the game was not actually trying to defend the dominant Warriors, but overcoming a huge injury to LeBron James in the 3rd quarter. Leaving the game with a groin injury (an MRI revealed no major damage and James is listed as day-to-day), the young Lakers were forced to adapt and hold onto the 15 point lead gained by them. Yet, the Warriors quickly shrunk the lead to as small as 2 until the Lakers were able to recover. But after a huge 3 pointer by Lance Stephenson to end the 3rd quarter, the Lakers were able to once again able to shift the momentum towards their side and began to once again stretch out their lead, led by players such as Brandon Ingram and Ivica Zubac (who has been nothing but phenomenal in his past three games). By outscoring the Warriors 36-19 in the 4th quarter without the best player in the world with James, the Lakers secured a very fine team win for a team that had major questions about how they would match up against Golden State or with any team without the amazing LeBron James.

Rajon Rondo proved to be a major spark for the Lakers on Christmas Day.

But for the Lakers in the game, the most crucial player down the stretch and in James’ absence ended up being Rajon Rondo. After being out for several weeks following a broken hand, Rondo’s steady presence on the court was crucial in a Laker victory. In being able to hold onto a strong 2nd half lead against the offensively dominant Warriors, Rondo came into the game in James’ absence and provided a major offensive lift (15 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists) that was able to right the ship and help the Lakers secure their 20th win of the still-young season.

Of all the storylines following this game, there are two majors ones that may have significance for the Lakers for the rest of the season. For one, the Lakers proved that they are not just only LeBron James (compared to his past Cavaliers’ teams) and are mentally tough enough to compete without him for stretches. While James is certainly crucial to any championship aspirations that the Lakers may have this year or in the future, the Lakers have enough pieces in place right now, and equally great roster depth, to be able to survive for stretches in the regular season without James. With players such as Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart stepping up once again and helping the Lakers in more ways than one, the Lakers proved to be more than just LeBron. In fact, a total of seven Laker players were able to score double figures last night, a true testament to where the Lakers are at right now and how they may fare down the line during the 2018-2019 season. The other key storyline is this: the Lakers are once again finally brining fear to the other 29 teams in the league. By absolutely dominating the mighty Warriors full of past and present All-Stars such as Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson, the Lakers showed that they can match up even with the best of NBA teams. Much credit should go to Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka for the construction of the current roster full of scrappy and physical players, but also to Luke Walton and his staff for preparing the young Lakers for a huge matchup like this. While the Lakers certainly are not at their very best yet, the Purple and Gold are improving and rising throughout the league, while also making a huge name for themselves as a legit contender in the league.

While LeBron was forced to exit early, the Lakers backed up their superstar with an awesome overall performance.

What’s next for the Lakers? A quick trip to Sacramento with De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, and the upcoming Kings is on their radar for Thursday night before a return home to LA for a battle with the steady Clippers on Friday night. James is definitely not expected to play Thursday (most likely not even Friday), so the Lakers will be forced to rally upon his absence against two Western Conference threats that have caused more noise than expected so far this season. Will the Lakers show up with the same intensity as they had on Christmas Day, or will they serve up two clunkers reminiscent of their Sunday loss in LA against the Memphis Grizzlies? It is unsure what will happen next, but the Lakers will have an exciting and interesting week, with or without James, in what is sure to be compelling for all of Laker Nation to watch.