Golden St. at L.A. Lakers
Time: 9:30 PM CT, TNT
Spread: GS -12
Total: 233
Odds c/o Bovada
GSW TEAM NOTES:
Though Golden State has won its past seven, the Warriors are not where it hoped it would be as this season has reached its midway point. With DeMarcus Cousins due to return, that could be all changing very soon.
Perhaps real momentum is now building with the team hopping into the lead in the Western Conference standings. With 32 wins, the Warriors are still on pace for a 50-win season, but this is a team just two seasons removed from the most winning season in NBA history. Where it has gone wrong is difficult to pinpoint, but chemistry issues, particularly those between Kevin Durant and Draymond Green, seem at least partly to blame.
Injuries to Stephen Curry have also played their role in the Warriors. Whatever the reasons, the demise is mostly over-stated because this is a team still sitting No. 2 in the West on the verge of adding a perennial Allstar to its starting lineup. Whatever form Cousins may or may not be in, this is still a team with immense talent, and Cousins will not have to work hard to get his shots. After all, the Warriors will then be starting five All-Stars, even with whatever existing chemistry issues may or may not even exist.
Curry and Durant have still been outstanding this season, even if Green has maligned Durant for his attitude on multitudes of occasions. Curry is tallying 28.9 points per game and Durant is just b behind him at 28.4. Klay Thompson still has been cooking with his 21.6 points per game. Perhaps the biggest finger could be pointed at Green himself, whose defensive efforts have fallen off as his facilitation on offense has become just as dicey. Green averages under eight points per game and is good for “only” 6.8 assists per night.
His role as point-forward appears to be changing, as does this Warriors team, but it is unclear how deep those effects may run, as it is equally unclear whether Durant will re-sign with the team or head elsewhere due to the friction that has already been a problem. And therein lies the rub with dynasties: The only thing that can often derail them is internal issues, but yes, those have inevitably arisen in Golden State, and to see the Warriors trail the Nuggets in the standings is as odd as it was predictable. It was also just as predictable that the Warriors would catch fire and pass them before the All-Star break if we are being honest about things.
Ultimately, there is too much talent to question this team’s potential as a repeating Conference champion, but without some cohesion with its lineup and resolution of some defensive issues, the Warriors could be upset in the postseason. It will have done so, to itself, almost.
LAL TEAM NOTES:
The Los Angeles Lakers are still without LeBron James, and it has won just four of its last ten, the team is now occupying the No. 9 spot in the Western Conference overall standings. The Lakers are 17-15 against the Western Conference.
With James unavailable, doing all the little things becomes ever more important. Kuzma can be transcendental in his own right at times, but without James, the Lakers lack a star, a No. 1 option, and it is now relying on the power of youth and chemistry to do the job.
Kuzma, for his part, has been great. The 6’9” forward has averaged 19.5 points per game and 6.8 rebounds over his last 10 games, and his 41-point eruption in the 113-100 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 9 was impressive. Kuz shot 16 of 24 in the game while knocking down 5 of 10 from three. He is unarguably the Lakers best offensive player outside of James, and now is his time to shine. Getting the best of Paul George (who presumably will cover him in this game) would be one more notch to Kuzma’s belt, but the Lakers are double-digit underdogs against the defensive studded lineup of the Thunder.
