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Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors in a preseason game that, for several stretches (and especially in the first half) didn’t quite feel like a preseason game. One thing’s for sure though: The (at least) four times these two teams will play against each other this season are going to be must-watch, and the Lakers came ready for the occasion.
On today’s Locked on Lakers, we discuss everything we noted about last night’s festivities. Yes, LeBron James against the Warriors will always be the headline, but in terms of importance moving forward, I’d actually argue a couple other performances were more noteworthy.
Let’s start with Lonzo Ball, who made his preseason debut after finally having been fully cleared to return from the offseason knee surgery that has held him out for the Lakers’ first four games.
Ball was very obviously rusty throughout the first five minutes or so of his time on the court. This was to be expected by just about everyone with anywhere near decent expectations for him last night, but once he got into the rhythm of the game, he made the kinds of plays that the team has dearly missed during his absence.
Next up: Brandon Ingram, who has picked up right where he left off last season through these first five preseason games. Ingram finished with 26 points, which is obviously nice, but the way he did that was more promising than the production itself.
To finish the individual performances that felt most important, I spoke about LeBron, who was, well, LeBron again last night. He’s very good. #analysis.
Why Ball and Ingram first, though? It’s pretty simple. James is very predictable in what he’s going to bring to the table. If the young core is ready to do their part consistently, the Lakers can reach the ceiling of their potential, which is pretty high.
I also spoke about the potential dynasty between the Warriors and Lakers and how it differs from Lakers-Celtics. Again, you won’t want to miss any games between these two teams.
As always, this is just a tidbit of the full context given in the show. Listen to the full discussion below and please check out old episodes, or guarantee you won’t miss any ever again by subscribing on iTunes.