At long last, the 2022-23 NBA regular season is underway, and the Los Angeles Lakers have taken the court for what they hope will be a bounce-back season after all that transpired last year.
A challenging first portion of the schedule commenced on Tuesday night with a matchup against the Golden State Warriors, the defending world champions.
At times, the Lakers executed new head coach Darvin Ham’s vision beautifully. When they defended and gained possession of the ball, they ran — and ran well. L.A. outscored the Warriors, 27-17, in fast-break points, and it attacked the champs in waves off the run.
But the big weakness for LeBron James and company was the 3-point shot. The Lakers went 10-of-40 from downtown, the chief reason they lost, 123-109.
Anthony Davis: B-plus
Davis looked spry and aggressive Tuesday night. When he got the ball inside, he made good things happen for L.A., and he also hit some mid-range shots, allowing him to finish 10-of-22, as well as 7-of-9 from the free-throw line for 27 points.
He also helped the Lakers contest shots inside at or near the rim by registering two blocks.
The one area of Davis’ game that was lacking was rebounding. He grabbed only six boards in 36 minutes. Still, in general, he played very well versus Golden State.
Russell Westbrook: A-minus
All eyes have been on Westbrook as he looks to rebound from a season that only seemed worse than it was.
The 15-year veteran was under control, turning down quick 3-point attempts to attack the basket, both in transition and in the set offense. He finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists while going 7-of-12 from the field, 1-of-3 from beyond the arc and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.
LeBron James: A-minus
James was James tonight, mileage and all. He paced himself early, perhaps looking to see how his teammates came out, but he started to get himself going in the second quarter.
He is still a terror on the fast break, and his ability to hit the open man remains second to none.
The 20-year veteran shot 12-of-25 from the field and recorded 31 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. The one blemish was the fact he went just 3-of-10 from 3-point range.
Patrick Beverley: C-plus
Beverley, at times, showed his defensive prowess by pressuring Golden State’s guards and coming up with three steals and one blocked shot.
However, the Lakers also traded for him because of his history as a knockdown 3-point shooter. He failed in that aspect tonight, going 1-of-5 from downtown.
Lonnie Walker IV: C-plus
Los Angeles is counting on Walker to give them scoring and speed in transition off the bench. He provided a little of that, but not nearly enough.
He went 2-of-7 from the field and 0-of-3 from downtown.
However, Walker made a nice, unexpected contribution as a playmaker by dishing out five assists.
Kendrick Nunn: A-minus
Nunn was the Lakers’ only reliable scoring threat off the bench as well as the only player on their roster who actually shot well from the outside.
He had 13 points in 23 minutes on 5-of-9 shooting and 3-of-6 from downtown, to go along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
On a few occasions, it was clear that although Nunn is a ball-handling guard, he is not a playmaker. He committed three turnovers.
Overall, Tuesday night’s performance was evidence Nunn will greatly help L.A. this season.
Matt Ryan: B-minus
The Lakers gave Ryan a roster spot because of his ability to fill it up from 3-point land. He didn’t shoot well on Tuesday, but he didn’t shoot terribly either. He went 1-of-3 from downtown and 1-of-4 overall.
Austin Reaves: D
After looking strong and poised during the exhibition season, Reaves was practically invisible versus the Warriors. He was 1-of-3 from the field, missing both of his 3-point attempts, while only managing one assist.
Juan Toscano-Anderson: D
Toscano-Anderson’s only contribution on the stat sheet versus his former team was four rebounds in 14 minutes. He missed all three of his shot attempts, all of which were 3-point attempts, and committed two turnovers.
Wenyen Gabriel: C
Gabriel received just eight minutes of playing time, two of them coming in garbage time at the end. He missed his only shot attempt and both of his free-throw attempts while grabbing one rebound and dishing one assist.
Cole Swider: Incomplete
Swider, a sharpshooting undrafted rookie, played two minutes in the end. He missed his only shot attempt, which was a 3-pointer, and he finished with one rebound and one assist.
Scotty Pippen Jr.: Incomplete
Pippen got onto the floor toward the end of the contest. He drew a foul and hit two free throws.
Max Christie: Incomplete
In his only two minutes of action, the second-round draft pick hit a 3-pointer for the final field goal of the contest seconds after grabbing his lone rebound.
