The story of tonight’s game against the Warriors isn’t actually about the game, but instead the pending result. The Lakers look to do what 15 straight opponents to start the season have not been able to — beat the defending world champions. Considering the state of both teams, it is pretty much a foregone conclusion the Lakers will not win this game.
Laker Nation, our Lakers are used to setting records on teams, tomorrow the Warriors will set the record for the best start in NBA history.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) November 24, 2015
One Warriors’ win is not a big deal. 16 Warriors’ wins without a loss to start the season would be the best start in the history of the league. So, this would be a pretty big deal. With the Warriors at home (and the Lakers playing anywhere), the pending doom is only more predetermined.
Sorry, guys, there are no roses and rainbows in this preview. I do not offer any hope, here. The Warriors are, potentially, one of the best teams the league has ever seen. The Lakers are currently the opposite of that. When asked if his team could win this game, Kobe said “stranger things have happened” which, you know, isn’t an endorsement.
So, here we are. But, if you want me to indulge your thirst for how a Lakers’ win could happen, here is the formula:
- Steph Curry shoots really poorly (think something like 6-21 including 1-10 from 3).
- Draymond Green gets in early foul trouble and is plagued by fouls all night.
- Klay Thompson shoots poorly (like 3-14).
- Kobe hits 5 of the 7 threes he takes every game.
- Julius Randle scores 20 points and hands out over 5 assists.
- Jordan Clarkson scores 20 points efficiently.
- Lou Williams goes to the foul line 10+ times.
- D’Angelo Russell hits his 3 pointers and flirts with 10 assists.
- The Warriors have 20 or more turnovers.
- Roy Hibbert blocks 5+ shots
I just rattled off 10 things. I honestly think at least 8 of them would need to happen for the Lakers to win, with the bullets on Steph, Klay, Kobe, Draymond, Randle, and the Warriors turnovers being must-haves. If that sounds like a lot, it’s because it is. I would imagine of you were in Vegas and saw all of those things listed as prop-bets, a parlay of hitting all 10 of those would pay out at a level where placing a $100 bet and winning would make it so you could retire.
These are the odds the Lakers are facing. Am I saying the Lakers have a chance? You tell me, Jim Carrey. The answer, of course, is there is always a chance. Just not a good one. Not even a slightly, kind-of-okay one.
Still, the game will be played. And it will be on national TV for everyone to watch. Everyone in attendance is expecting the Warriors to win. It has gotten to the point, the Warriors had to deny requests for press credentials because so many requests came in to see them break this record. I think they will get what they came for.
Though the Lakers’ fan in me would find few things sweeter than the send them all away disappointed.
Where you can watch: 7:30pm start time on TNT. Also listen on ESPN Radio Los Angeles 710AM.
Everclear says
We somehow deserve this.
lil pau says
I see Horry as the player who really needs to come up big tonight. Hopefully, Fox can make things tough for Draymond Green and we can really pound the ball to Shaq early and often to exploit their weakness inside. Obviously, Fish will have his hands full with Curry, but hopefully we can get some of that back with good 2nd unit play by Trevor and Farmar. If it’s close, I like Phil’s experience over that of his student, Luke Walton. Finally–
What?
Oh, right. Dammit….
rr says
Nice post at 138 PM.
KO says
Put down the tequila Lil.think of poor me i have to watch the game with one arm.
And I take the 17 points. Theory is Luke will feel sorry for them.
GS by 12.
Clay Bertrand says
lil pau, I’m thinking Medvedenko could be the KEY to locking up Green.
But Darius would have to serve Steph Curry the notorius Sacramento Hotel Room Service Cheeseburger for him to shoot 1-10 from 3!!!!!!!!!!!
Just the same, GO LAKERS!!!!!!
tankyou says
One of your best previews ever!
I enjoyed the realistic assessment, basically the planets have to align. For me its more about IF the team can hang, not about wins. Not getting destroyed by good teams is a minor victory of sorts. I’ve only watched one Warriors game this year, but Curry clearly is playing at an insane level. He has the quickest release for a good shooter that I have ever seen. Our wings can’t defend and their wings are elite, so I can’t imagine how we don’t lose by twenty. But who knowns maybe the Warriors are feeling lazy now that they have won 15 in a row and they suffer from a mental let-down and we end up hanging with them for awhile.
Unfortunately for us the Warriors tend to play defense as well, so and as the previous article elucidates–our offense is very shaky. I think I will sit this one out and just check the highlight reels tomorrow.
BlizzardOfOz says
In an amazing coincidence, the Lakers are also slated to face the 76ers when they will likely be 18-0, tied for the all-time worst start. So the Lakers will get once chance at glory, and then a shot at utter humiliation. Hilarious-case scenario would be that they beat the Dubs, then lose to the Sixers.
Fern says
For the Lakers to win we need to… Ahh screw it we are going to get crushed in every way possible, just want to see how our young guys play against the Champs…
Chearn says
Lakers rise to the historical challenge and stop the Warriors and Luke Walton short. First real opportunity for the new crew to show if they have Lakers DNA coursing through their bodies.
The truth is, Steph Curry is fricking unbelievable and an edge of your seat type of player to view. BTW, Ben Simmons is coming to a team in 2016 with that same ability. WOW, that 18-year-old makes me accepting of the ‘Aaron tank job.’ I’m not sure what position he’d play with the Lakers if the Lakers somehow were that fortunate; he’d be redundant with Randle and neither Simmons nor Randle are lock down defenders. But the Lakers would gladly welcome that problem if they somehow won the draft lottery. Oh well.
Let’s go Lakers!
T. Rogers says
This one’s going to be doozy!
BigCitySid says
-So either way you look at it, Lakers go down in the history books:
1) as the team which allowed the Warriors to set the record or
2) as the team which prevented the Warriors from setting the record
– Everyone has written them off, 18 point spread in Vegas, Lakers have nothing to lose…time for a surprise
– Let’s go Lakers
bluehill says
We’re in the holiday season. Miracles can happen. Go Lakers!
Robert says
Kobe Alert: For those who are rolling your eyes, I could be like Magic and write a GS 16 in a row post, or perhaps like BCS and write an anti-Kobe Alert, or perhaps I can be like many others and write a Byron Bash Alert (not really an alert since it happens dozens of times per thread). So I will just write the Kobe Alert. With that said, KB needs only 33 minutes to catch Gary Peyton for 9th all time. He has logged over 47, 000 minutes. Does he get that tonight? Last game Kobe got the 628th blocked shot of his career which ties him for 5th on the all time Laker list with Andrew Bynum (I do not want to tell you how long it took him to get the last blocked shot). Kobes needs 79 more dimes to catch Jerry West for 2nd on the all time Laker list. All Star voting will start soon. Not a given for Kobes to be a starter this year, so vote early and vote often.
Mid-Wilshire says
Lil Pau,
You forgot to mention the Lakers’ No. 8. That boy can ball. (A guy can dream, can’t he?)
lil pau says
Mid-W.,
You’re right! Now that Kobe is coming to his own as a vet, I really appreciate that he’s becoming so much more judicious about his shot selection, particularly his determination to get to the rim rather than settling for a quick 3 like he did in his first two seasons. Thank God those days are behind us. As he matures, I am sure we have seen the last of contested turnaround jumpshots, long three pointers early in the shot clock, and similar follies of youth.
Like Ko, I fear tonight’s game will quickly degenerate into a drinking game without rules. Is it possible to get a double T from my living room?
KO says
I don’t like nationally televised games.
Let is live in our own embarrisment as the 2nd worst team in the NBA.
Don’t let the nation laugh at our team.
Sigh##########
Tim says
Warriors taking all threes to start, they might be able to win a game if they only took threes.
Chearn says
KO, too funny!
Luckily this game is ugly all around, so far.
KO says
Kobe looks like a 60 year old trying to play with college kids. Sad. Dumb. Embarrising.
Yep looks like me last Sunday.
But I retired.
Joel says
This is going about as well as expected…
Archon says
I know the Warriors are good but that was the most disheartening quarter I think I have ever seen as a Laker fan.
barty says
I think this should be a rule: if you shoot an air ball, the other team gets the points. The Lakers would be down 10 instead of 19!
Tim says
Lakers 23.8% from the filed and forced zero turnovers in the first quarter, not a recipe for staying in this game.
Anonymous says
At this rate we’ll lose by 76 points.
Tim says
Kobe with the cold check from three. He is approaching absolute zero on the Kelvin scale from.three point land.
KO says
If Bryon still has a job then clearly Buss and Buss have zero pride.
Just count your money. But just like McCort and that old Clipper owner, don’t expect a hand shake or free drink by real fans.
They are laughing at you Jimmy. Again!
Archon says
For those blaming all this on coaching please tell me who on the Lakers would actually get any PT on this Warriors team? I mean we all love Clarkson but he wouldn’t even get Livingstons minutes!
So when an NBA team has 6 guys better then anyone on your team, like its some lopsided college matchup you have to start your concerns with the front office, not the coaching (I’m not a Scott apologist either).
KO says
Last 2 games Nick and Kobe are 7 for 41
That 18%
Hahahahahahahaha!
Anonymous says
Lakers 4 assist Warriors 19….
Gene says
Russell held his own. …he plus/minus wasn’t bad….Kobe shouldn’t even play in the second half…Randle had some decent moments too… Lakers won the 2nd Quarter!!!
G says
Lakers 4 assist GSW 19
Fern says
Down by 16, could be worse, “the bust” and Randle are holding their own with Julius scoring some great baskets against Green, thats a positive, no use in endless whinning…
Hale says
Hibbert shoots his jump hook like he’s 5’5″. It’s half floater, half flip bail out. Needs to rotate his body more and lean towards the hoop. Too concerned with getting blocked more than wanting to score.
This game is one big blurry mess. I can’t see anything good out of it at the moment. 11 to 30 after 1 quarter. 16 point deficit at the half. Garbage rotations and losing man leading to alley oops.
Good post last thread, Renato.
Gene says
Please take Kobe out….He “Earned” a seat on the bench…
KO says
1 for 13
3 airballs
Barly dribble and chew gum
Yet still out there.
Bottom 20 players in NBA
Yet the soon ex-coach keeps him out tbere.
Have sone pride Kobe. Retire NOW
KenOak says
I love Kobe as much as anyone. Even Robert. He needs to hang em up. His effort is such that it leads me to believe his heart isn’t in this anymore. I’d rather let the young guys have all the burn at this point. And no, this doesn’t detract from everything that Kobe has done for the Lakers. It doesn’t change how much Kobe has meant to this franchise, but the body is clearly not able to keep up any longer.
Kevin T says
Kobe has shot at least 5 bail out shots. Younger years those weren’t big percentage busters because he would make a few and also he would make his makable shots but now he can’t even make his regular jumpers, let alone the bail out shots. That’s why his percentage is going to go lower and lower as the games pile on. Horrible.
Archon says
No way they can let Kobe play the entire year like this.
Anonymous says
Russell, Randle and Clarkson could all average 15 points a game (which would be success beyond our expectations) and the Lakers would still be a bottom dweller. We have three rotation players and we need at least ten.
What have you been doing for the last three years Jim — shouldn’t we have more to show talent wise? What a mess.
Chris J says
Charles Barkley called the Lakers the Washington Generals in the halftime show. That about sums it up.
Kevin T says
0 championship Barkley. Who cares.
Kevin T says
Every Laker is playing the 1on1 game ,no passing ,no movement. Nothing. Wow.
KenOak says
The saddest thing for me is that this is exactly what Kobe’s detractors have been waiting for. He was always impervious to it before, but now he just can’t will himself to be the best anymore.
Kbj says
I would like to see Kobe play in a different offense before I say its over. Like Renato showed, this offense is horrendous. I doubt anybody can do good in this system.
Keith says
Trade Williams and Young. Bottom out this season. Pray the ping pong balls deliver Ben Simmons.
karen says
Horrible and embarrassing what they are allowing kobe to do. 1 for 14. This is on mitch and jeannie
KO says
If Kobe cared about thus team he would retire now.
If Mitch cared about thus team he would quit.
If Jim cared about this team he would move to Montanegro.
But none do as much as us fans. None.
vhan says
Turned the TV off, the young guns can’t even ignore Kobe. Just don’t pass him the ball, sigh.
bluehill says
Ugh, what happened to the Kobe from the Detroit game. I really thought he had finally decided to embrace more of a facilitator role. Clearly he hasn’t. Kobe is trending on twitter not in a good way.
https://twitter.com/NickatFP/status/669386246439833600
R says
Let’s look on the bright side. At least the Warriors are about to erase a record Red had a hand in.
Also, no way the Warriors win 34 straight. Not with a seven game road trip coming up. No way the Warriors win all those. Therefore this winning streak ends far short.
…. Right?
Shaun says
i hate the princeton …. didnt work with brown or dantoni why did we go that way a 3rd time…….this is hard to watch we have legit nba players in the team ….. coaching and style are horrendous
Tim says
Kobe is 1-14. He will tie his worst shooting game with a made field goal. He was also 1-14 on 11/14/14.Get some rest Kobe, you look tired.
Dwight says
Well, we all wondered, during the ‘easy’ nine game stretch to start the season, how the Lakers would fare against the elite teams. Well, now we know.
Agree with Anon, above, three years in shouldn’t we have a bit more talent to build on? Not saying we should be winning these games but looking at our roster we’re like years away from competing.
nik kannan says
Byron has to be fired… no rookie or 2nd yr player ( minus 3 thousand yr old Huertas) on the floor with 3 min to go…. Nick Young needs to go, find a place for Lou maybe for Morris from Phx… Jimbo sick of being delusional …. we need change & change fast just for morale..
I know a reg season game but I agree with other posts we only really have 3 players… everyone, including Mitch has to go…
So dumb … he is a bad coach and isn’t right for the team
Tim says
Stat of the night: Lakers FGs 31, Warriors assists 32
Anonymous says
This loss is an indictment of the Jim Buss regime. Total fail.
Archon says
Even accepting the fact the Warriors might be a historically good team in the middle of a dynasty it’s still jarring how far away the Lakers are from being able to compete at a high level again. For the Lakers to be a championship level team again they need so many good things to happen in the draft lottery, player development, and free agency that it’s scary to think about as a Lakers fan
Mid-Wilshire says
I’m usually not one to call for a head coach being fired (although some of you may remember me suggesting something similar when D’Antoni was here). But in this case, I suspect that a change may be in order.
I just don’t think that Byron Scott’s coaching is what the Lakers need. I also don’t see him helping the young players that much. Haranguing them? Yes. Helping them? No.
It may be time for a change. Let’s not be shocked if it happens.
KO says
So Bryon ewillsay Kobe earned the right to be a embarrisment?
And to help get t you fired.
LKK says
Only one positive that I can take from this game. The Lakers’ young core can see just how hard they have to work to compete at the elite level. Nowhere to go but up. This is rock bottom.
Anonymous says
IMHO Kobe’s post-game comments that I saw on Serena Winter’s Twitter page border on Byron Scott-level delusion…….
KevTheBold says
That was simply brutal !
Anonymous says
With so many Lakers fans wondering WTF is going on shouldn’t someone other than BS be speaking for the organization? I think this start, on the heals of the last two years, warrants some comment from management. We clearly aren’t on track to compete for the playoffs as Mitch implied.
I hope reporters ask hard questions. I get that it’s all about the kids but this is shaping up to be a worse season than last year, which itself was worse than the season before it. There’s a trend and it’s going the wrong way.
The 76ers are trying to lose every game and we are only marginally better than they are, record wise. What happened to turning the corner, Jim?
J C says
The Golden State Warriors are playing basketball the way it was meant to be played. In fact I don’t even think James Naismith envisioned the game could evolve to this.
It’s a joy to watch the Warriors. It’s a waste of time watching the Lakers.
If being throttled on national TV en route to the worst record in team history doesn’t trigger some action by the FO, nothing will.
I’m sure that management feels sorry for Byron but something has to give. Even if this isn’t his fault, someone has to take one for the team. And it’s not gonna be Kobe.
I just hope Kobe can figure out a way to finish the season gracefully. Try to get 10 assists per night. Something. There’s no way he walks away. That would be ‘quitting.’ Not in his vocabulary.
Bye bye, Byron.
Snarky George says
From Baxter Holmes:
Julius Randle, Louis Williams and Larry Nance Jr. were the Lakers’ leading scorers with 10 points apiece. According to Elias, it was the first of the Lakers’ 5,301 games in the NBA, dating back to 1948, in which no player on the team scored more than 10 points.
___
This could be a long and ugly year.
Calvin says
Somewhere, Aaron is smiling and nodding. Excellent…
Calvin says
Last season, it was only in February when I realized the season was a stealth tank. This season is an overt tank. There’s no other logical explanation for retaining Byron and letting Kobe play like this.
KO says
Seems lots let BS iff the hook. Hi look at last 4 years win totals. Throw in 20 this year. Avg 23 over 5 yesr period.
Worst NBA history
Now look at year before and year after he is gone. Startling. Its like buying a horse that finished last in every race and thrn shooting it for losing.
matt says
Warriors have great defense, everyone always thinks of them as an offensive team, they will probably repeat and I’m glad cuz i don’t want the cavs to win, the owner is a turd, as for the clippers too many trolls at my work like them and the team tries to rub it in on the lakers, warriors are cool but too many bandwagon fans, i never seen a warriors fan 5 years ago now there everywhere
KevTheBold says
At this stage in Kobe’s career, he can either be the grease between the gears, or the grime.
I believe he knows this, but lacks impulse control.
We can only hope that his legacy means enough to him to bring about an awakening.
Of course, it could be that dark the part of his persona, which we tolerated in the past, has become our karma.
matt says
Calvin you thought jeremy lin, carlos boozer, rehabed kobe, and jordan hill, was gonna make a run, seriously, i kinda was hoping too, we are all just blind fans
Calvin says
Matt – last season, with Byron’s serious tone and how he preached toughness, I bought into it. Until February, when Jordan Clarkson revealed that Byron told him not to worry about wins and losses, just trust the process. That’s another way of saying “just play and get more experience, forget about winning.” That’s why Byron was coming up with funky lineups and forcing RKelly to play SF. It was to deliberately lose games. I was optimistic during the offseason because Hibbert is a good rim protector and Lou was a good 4th-quarter scorer who could create his own shot. But Byron’s rotations and schemes this season point to overt tanking,
PurpleBlood says
ugh