Thursday, January 14, 2016

LAKERS-Warriors Halftime Post

LAL 49 GS 52

Welcome in to the halftime post of the Lakers' matchup vs. the defending champion Warriors where the Warriors have a 49-52 lead at the half.

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D'Angelo Russell, 10 points, 4-7 shooting. Russell may not be putting up a performance like he did against the Kings last Thursday, but he's been playing well as of late. When Kobe started slowing down, the offense was off to a slow start. Once Russell came off the bench, he provided a small spark for this Lakers team in keeping this a competitive game out there.

Jordan Clarkson, 10 points, 5-8 shooting. Clarkson looked sharp out there in the first half. His activity in the game has been decent, particularly in that putback dunk in the 2nd quarter and he has taken care of the ball so far, limiting to two turnovers.

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Splash Bros. Curry has 15 points, 5-10 shooting from the three point arc, there is absolutely no way the Lakers have any answer for the incumbent MVP. However, the last time the Lakers competed against the Warriors, Klay Thompson went off and pretty much sealed the deal for the Warriors in their last matchup at Staples Center. So far, they've allowed 9 points for Thompson, but he struggled shooting the ball in the 1st half. I'm keeping my expectations low that the Lakers can keep the other half of the Splash Bros in check.

Bottom Line

As a Laker fan, the margin heading into the half is something that we can consider a partial victory. As long as the Lakers keep Thompson and the rest of the Warriors team in check, barring Curry exploding for 40+ points in the 2nd half to power the Warriors past the Lakers, they could have a shot in leaving Oracle pulling off the biggest upset of the season. Let's see what happens.

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