It’s official — the Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals starting on Tuesday.
This is a series that should not only be hard-fought but also entertaining and full of star power. It will be the fifth time LeBron James has taken on Stephen Curry and company in the playoffs, while Anthony Davis will look to dominate against a Warriors team that is smaller than the Grizzlies squad the Lakers just sent home for the summer.
Los Angeles played the Warriors four times in the regular season, winning three of those contests. While there may not be a ton that can be gleamed from those contests for various reasons, they could foretell a bit of what will transpire in this upcoming series.
Oct. 18 — Warriors 123, Lakers 109
The first meeting this season between the Lakers and Warriors came on opening night. The Warriors, the defending NBA champions, got their rings in front of their home crowd, and they proceeded to defeat L.A.
The Lakers were competitive for a brief stretch in the first quarter, but Golden State got out to a 59-52 lead at halftime, a lead it stretched to 27 late in the third quarter. James and company tried making a fourth-quarter run, but they only got as close as 12 points.
The Lakers’ inability to hit from the outside was glaring, as they went just 10-of-40 from 3-point range.
Feb. 11 — Lakers 109, Warriors 103
The two teams didn’t play each other again until early February, and it was the first game in a Lakers uniform for newcomers D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley. However, James and Curry missed the game due to injury.
Los Angeles’ defense was impressive, as it forced Golden State to shoot just 41.7 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from 3-point range. Down the stretch, the Lakers simply executed better, and they got 26 points from Dennis Schroder, plus 15 from Russell and 12 points and eight rebounds from Vanderbilt.
Feb. 23 — Lakers 124, Warriors 111
Although Curry was still out for this contest, James was back in action.
He went just 5-of-20 from the field, but he got plenty of help. The Lakers had eight players who scored in double figures, including Beasley, who went off for a game-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting overall and 7-of-11 from downtown.
Again, defense carried the Lakers to victory — they held Golden State to just 38.1 percent shooting on the night.
March 5 — Lakers 113, Warriors 105
While James missed this game because of a right foot tendon injury, Curry returned after missing the previous 11 games with a lower leg injury.
But he shot just 8-of-20 from the field, while his team was held to just under 40 percent shooting overall — notice a trend here for the Lakers?
Davis was absolutely dominant with 39 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots, while Austin Reaves added 16 points and eight assists. The Lakers led 32-12 at one point, and the Warriors never fully recovered.
