In their fourth and final meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers, and their last of the preseason, the Golden State Warriors got the win!
It was a much-needed victory in a series that exposed all of the Warriors’ weaknesses with their new-look roster and amplified all of the strengths of the Lakers’ retooled frontcourt. With the Warriors only other win this preseason coming against the Minnesota Timberwolves — and two of their three losses to the Lakers being in blowout fashion — how did they finally get it done?
D’Angelo Russell coming alive on offense was a big help.
D-Lo went 29 high
The Warriors desperately needed D’Angelo Russell to find his stroke and settle into the offense. In the team’s preseason finale, he did just that, scoring 29 points in 28 minutes on 9-of-19 (47.4%) shooting from the field and 6-of-11 (54.5%) from 3-point range.
His shooting from beyond the arc is noteworthy because he has struggled during the preseason. Russell was 0-of-4 versus the Lakers on Oct. 5, 2-of-8 (25%) versus the Timberwolves on Oct. 10 and 3-of-8 (37.5%) versus the Lakers on Oct. 16. (Russell sat out the Oct. 14 matchup for rest purposes.)
If D-Lo can keep uploading this kind of offense, the Warriors just might be alright after all (or, at minimum, they can avoid significant embarrassment).
Warriors vs. Lakers preseason series
Game 1: 123-101, Lakers.
Game 2: 104-98, Lakers.
Game 3: 126-93, Lakers.
Game 4: 124-103, Warriors.
The Warriors tip off the 2019-20 regular season at Chase Center on Oct. 24 versus the Los Angeles Clippers.
