For the first time since Game 4 of last season’s Western Conference Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers took the court at Crypto.com Arena for a preseason contest against the Golden State Warriors on Friday evening.
They looked sharp offensively in the first half, as they put up 70 points by halftime and led by seven points at intermission behind some hot shooting. They continued to shoot reasonably well in the second half, but they started to cool off, and on the other end, they were unable to stop Golden State.
Yet again, head coach Darvin Ham went with his rookies in the fourth quarter, and while they played hard, their results were scattered, as L.A. got outscored 29-25 in the final frame, leading to a 129-125 loss.
Although there are things that need to be cleaned up, there were also some bright spots from this contest.
The Lakers' 3-point shooting may actually be a strength
No one will ever accuse the Lakers of being as potent an outside shooting team as the Warriors. But so far in the preseason, they have looked very good and sometimes even deadly from 3-point range.
After shooting just 33.3 percent from downtown on Wednesday, the Lakers were scorching on Friday, going 16-of-36 from that distance for a 44.4 percent accuracy. They even outdid Golden State in that category, as it went 41.5 percent from deep.
Los Angeles’ starters, in particular, have been red-hot from beyond the arc in the preseason. On Friday, they were 8-of-16 from that distance, with newcomer Taurean Prince going 4-of-5 from downtown.
Christian Wood is looking better and better
Wood is a big wild card for the Lakers this season, and if he plays well, especially in multiple facets of the game, he can boost their chances of winning the NBA championship significantly.
While he struggled in L.A.’s first two exhibition games, he shot 5-of-7 on Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings, and he continued to look promising on Friday. He went 5-of-8 from the field and 1-of-2 from 3-point land to score 13 points in 13 minutes.
The Lakers also need rebounding from Wood, and he provided that by grabbing seven boards against Golden State. Over the last couple of seasons, rebounding, especially defensive rebounding, has been a sizable weakness for them.
Jalen Hood-Schifino is a work in progress
Many feel Hood-Schifino, the 6-foot-6 rookie guard out of Indiana University, has the potential to be a good player. But so far, he has struggled in preseason play.
He went 1-of-7 on Friday, with his one made field goal representing only his second made field goal in the last three games. Some feel he has been a little too unselfish when operating and making his way to the basket, looking too much to set up a teammate when he could’ve taken a mid-range jump shot or attacked the basket more aggressively.
But Hood-Schifino, at times, has been dropping dimes. He had five on Friday without committing a turnover, which came on the heels of another five-assist game on Wednesday.
