As far as dress rehearsals go, Saturday’s debut of the new-look Los Angeles Lakers left everyone who saw it feeling good about the real show that is about to go down in a few weeks. The Lakers dominated the Golden State Warriors with Anthony Davis and LeBron James each dominating in their one half of play.
The Lakers looked like they were a few weeks ahead of the Warriors, who are breaking in a new team around Steph Curry and Draymond Green, which was not an accident. According to LeBron, the Lakers didn’t want to take their preseason opener lightly.
“I didn’t even think about it being a preseason game,” James said. “I thought about it being a game and how we can get better. I didn’t want to take it lightly because it was a preseason game. I think none of us did.”
The Lakers took off in another gear, with LeBron leading the charge in the game. He had 15 points and eight assists, with many of them coming on dunks by Anthony Davis, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds in his Lakers debut.
Although the game didn’t matter, it should be an encouraging sign that the Lakers aren’t taking anything in front of them lightly, which is a pre-requisite for success in the Western Conference.
