Sum of Warriors’ parts is greater than Lakers’ star power in
season-opening win
After finishing the preseason 5-0, the Warriors are off to a 1-0 start
to the regular season
>LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 19: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State
Warriors drives to the basket against Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los
Angeles Lakers during the first half of a basketball game at Staples
Center on October 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER:
User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using
this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the
Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
>LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 19: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State
Warriors drives to the basket against Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los
Angeles Lakers during the first half of a basketball game at Staples
Center on October 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER:
User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using
this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the
Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
By EVAN WEBECK | ewebeck@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: October 19, 2021 at 9:45 p.m. | UPDATED: October 20, 2021 at
1:40 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2021/10/19/sum-of-warriors-parts-is-greater-than-lakers-star-power-in-season-opening-win/

LOS ANGELES — The Warriors made a bet that their shooting ability and
ball movement could offset the size disadvantage that comes with their
small-ball lineup. The strategy faced an immediate test against the Los
Angeles Lakers but held up in a 121-114 win to open the regular season
Tuesday night.

Golden State overcame 30-point performances from LeBron James and
Anthony Davis to prevail in a season-opening matchup of two teams with
fresh looks and higher hopes than last season. Stephen Curry turned in a
triple-double despite a cold shooting night, while Jordan Poole led five
other Warriors in double figures with 20 points.

“Once we settled down after the first half opening night jitters, we
just started making the simple play, we were in great shape,” coach
Steve Kerr said afterward. “(The) first half, I did not recognize the
team I was watching. They were not the team that I’ve watched the last
three weeks in camp. Second half, that’s who we are — floor spacing,
ball movement, hitting singles, nothing crazy, solid defense.”

Here are some quick takeaways.

- Star power

Stephen Curry’s season opener was bookended by a couple of tumbles.

He took a hard fall early in the first quarter driving against Anthony
Davis, then appeared to slip on a spilled drink while running back on
defense in the second half. He stayed in but was uncharacteristically
off from the field.

Curry never heated up, but he made his presence felt in other ways with
10 assists and 10 rebounds, plus a trio of free throws after he drew a
foul against two defenders that pulled the Warriors within two points to
close the third quarter.

“He was not on his game, but he still impacts the game so dramatically,”
coach Steve Kerr said afterward.

The triple-double was Curry’s first since his second MVP campaign of
2015-16 and the eighth of his career.

Curry made another big shot after re-entering the game with less than 6
minutes to go, pulling up from 3 to pad the Warriors lead, 103-98. He
drew Avery Bradley’s attention on the following possession and dished it
to Nemanja Bjelica, who drained the shot from distance to keep Los
Angeles at bay.

Curry finished 5-of-21 from the field and turned the ball over four
times, including a bad pass that cost Golden State two points on a
fastbreak.

Draymond Green was equally ineffective, while Andrew Wiggins also had
another quiet offensive showing as he continued to shake off the rust.
He sank a key 3 to extend the Warriors’ lead into double digits — their
largest of the game — with just under 3 minutes to play.

Green coughed the ball up three times while Golden State fell into a
first-quarter hole. He scored six points, pulled in eight rebounds and
dished out six assists.

Wiggins finished with 12 points in 25 minutes 5-of-10 shooting.

Meanwhile, James and Davis combined for 67 points (and, it often felt,
at least that many lobs).

The Warriors’ bench more than made up the difference: Golden State’s
reserves outscored the Lakers’ by a 55-29 margin.

“The fact that everybody on the floor contributed in a meaningful way
speaks to our depth and how we want to play going forward,” Curry said.

[video: Curry says Warriors fixed offensive struggles from last sea...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBk9szG0r_U]

- JTA’s big draw

Just look at who Juan Toscano-Anderson bodied up as soon as he entered
the game: Davis, then Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook. The
Warriors turned to Toscano-Anderson when Green was called for his second
foul.

“It’s a tough matchup. Obviously AD’s got a huge size advantage on him,”
Kerr said. “There’s gonna be times where we have to make decisions on do
we want to stay big and have less spacing and playmaking or do we want
to go smaller and be able to spread the floor and make plays? Those are
the decisions we’re going to have to make every game.”

Almost immediately, the Lakers began to exploit the size advantage.

Rondo lobbed an alley-oop to Davis, which he slammed home to make it 50-43.

The small-ball Warriors are going to be challenged by big teams like the
Lakers until James Wiseman is able to return.

Toscano-Anderson will play a pivotal role if he’s able to hold his own
despite losing a couple inches.

Kerr noted the Lakers only made it to the foul line 19 times, despite
their size advantage. That’s an area the Warriors are focusing on this
season after ranking near the bottom of the league in free throws
allowed last season.

“That’s a huge goal of ours this year,” Kerr said. “And against a big,
strong team like that, to keep them to 19 free throws is a big deal.”

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- Opening night surprises

A couple surprises from the first game: Nemanja Bjelica’s big role — and
Moses Moody’s debut midway through the second quarter.

Teammates insist Bjelica is more than a spot-up shooter, and he showed
as much Tuesday night. He entered with Andre Iguodala in the first
rotation of subs off the bench and was on the floor to close the first half.

Some of Bjelica’s biggest contributions came on a couple of driving
lay-ups in transition, one of which drew Curry off the bench and into a
happy-feet celebration. He finished with a game-high plus-20 point
differential with him on the floor.

“(Expletive), plus-20, man, that’s incredible,” Green said. “With his
shooting ability, guys are really running him off the line. For him to
have the ability to put the ball on the floor and kick out, that’s huge.
He made a lot of plays tonight. He was a huge reason we pulled this game
out tonight.”

Moody, the 14th overall pick in the past NBA draft, saw his first NBA
action after entering with 8:21 to go in the second quarter. He got up a
couple quick shots, maybe too quick, but got his first NBA bucket out of
the way on a drive down the baseline that he finished at the rim.

And, hey, that Bradley guy sure looked familiar, right?

The veteran guard signed with the Lakers after the Warriors waived him
last week and drew the assignment guarding Curry in the fourth quarter,
despite coach Frank Vogel saying beforehand he didn’t expect Bradley to
play in the opener.

[video: Kerr says Warriors' preseason polish showed up in second...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w1RjS1Ow0k]

--
Evan Webeck | Reporter
Evan Webeck covers high-school sports on the field and beyond — and a
little bit of everything else — for the Bay Area News Group. A Pacific
Northwest native and graduate of Arizona State, Evan has previously
worked for The Seattle Times, MLB.com and Sports Illustrated.