Young Lakers Take It to the Super Warriors in Decisive Win

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' big victory over the Golden State Warriors as the Lakers punch the bully in the mouth, gaining a monumental 97-117 upset over the Warriors.

Sorry if this postgame recap took too long to post because I've got my hands full over a couple of friends who are Warriors fans. Bragging rights is great! But, for sure, this game does not change the stance of the Warriors nor the Lakers. The Warriors are still a championship contender and the Lakers are in the process of grooming their young talent. But, like I said, great win. You can't ask for a better confidence builder by beating one of the best teams in the Western Conference, let alone in the NBA. This game is one of those barometer builder games and the Lakers answered the challenge, taking on the role of David in overcoming Goliath.

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The Bench Mob. Having a good bench is always a relief for a team. Throughout the 4-game road trip, the bench play was the strength for the Lakers and I finally saw it first hand. Lou Williams, Larry Nance Jr., Tarik Black, Jordan Clarkson, and Brandon Ingram, what a bench lineup. Sweet Lou as usual lead all bench players with 20 points. He's such a luxury to have with the way he draws contact and how he can hit from deep. When the Warriors had their run, Lou stepped his game up and did what he did best. Larry Nance Jr., 12 points, 9 rebounds. Get this man in the dunk contest NOW! Like I said in the 2nd quarter, his poster of David West is arguably the highlight of the game and pretty sums up how the Lakers threw down the gauntlet over the Warriors. Tarik Black played a decent game with 8 points, most of his points came from a couple of beautifully-executed alley oops. Clarkson had 9 points, he didn't need to do much. Brandon Ingram 12 points and 6 rebounds. The shots for Ingram will come, but he did a great job facilitating and getting to the free throw line.

Julius Randle, 20 points, 14 rebounds, 10-18 shooting. Lakers got the double-double machine rolling again. One thing we know about the Warriors is that even if they have Curry, Klay, KD, and Green, they are really undersized in the paint. I thought Randle did a great job exploiting their weakness. Talk about a wild 4th quarter for Randle! He went out there tipping everybody's missed shots for 2nd chance points. Don't sleep give up on Randle just yet. He's going to continue to develop into a beast.

D'Angelo Russell, 17 points, 5-11 shooting. D'Lo's first shot, which happened to be a 3-pointer, arguably set the tone this game. Russell didn't have to do too much since the bench was once again playing out of their minds. But, when the Warriors went on their run in the 2nd half, D'Lo hit a couple of big buckets to add more cushion to the lead. 

Nick Young, 12 points, 4-11 shooting. Yes, the woeful shooting stats will be there, but Swaggy P was a defensive menace out there. Okay, maybe that's too much, but I've been impressed with his improved defense that it offsets his poor shooting. Most of his shots were big. His only 3 pointer of the game in the 3rd quarter helped the Lakers build their lead back up. Stats don't show it, but he lived up to the Swaggy P nickname. Might as well convert it to "Swaggy D" because of his improved defense.

Breaking Curry's 3-point streak. Man, it felt like an eternity where Curry has not missed a 3-point shot. Overall, the Lakers held the Warriors to 4-24 shooting, but truth be told, they were missing some good look 3-pointers that they routinely make. But, this game, the Lakers proved that Steph Curry is human, even from beyond the arc. 10 3-point attempts and he missed all of them. 

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I couldn't pinpoint any negatives because this was too fun of a game watch. But, if anything, I would say the 2nd half effort. I thought the Lakers took a step back after a brilliant first half and started allowing the Warriors to storm right back into the game. Some of it though were due to brilliant adjustments by Steve Kerr, particularly on the defensive end. But overall, the Lakers pumped the brakes a little bit in the 2nd half.

MVP

Lou Williams, 20 points, 7-14 shooting

Some will say Julius Randle deserves MVP honors and there's no wrong in that. Personally, I thought Lou Williams deserves this honor. He managed to keep the team together when the Warriors were coming back. Sweet Lou stepped in and put the team on his back to add more cushion to the Lakers' lead whether it's deep 3's, driving to the hoop, or drawing contact from defenders.

Conclusion

Well, the bad news is that the Lakers will meet the Warriors again this month twice in the same week. So, definitely the Warriors will be looking for blood the next time around. This was the golden opportunity since they were coming off an emotional win over the Thunder for Kevin Durant and the Lakers capitalized on the Warriors' back-to-back stretch. But, like I said, this is a great win to gauge the barometer for this team. This Lakers team, as young as they are, they will not bow down or lay down to anyone. Luke Walton has this team competing for a full 48 minutes and it's great to see that progress is being made early on into the season. Nothing more needs to be said. Laker Nation, let's enjoy this win because these come once in a blue moon. But like I said, it's the sound of progression and hopefully the process continues to go the right way for this young team.  As a reminder, I don't cover all 82 games, only the ones that are nationally televised. Every other game that's exclusive to local TV will be condensed into a quick recap/fact check. I'll see you guys for the next nationally televised Lakers game, whenever that is.