Since Golden State was eliminated from the Western Conference semifinals in May of last year, the Warriors have not faced the Los Angeles Lakers in a game of significance.
But at Chase Center tonight, it will all change.
Yes, a full six weeks have passed without a headline match between Steph Curry and LeBron James. Since the California rivals’ first postseason meeting, in which James’ Lakers eliminated Curry’s Warriors from the playoffs and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, both teams have, however, suffered greatly.
With a 23-23 record, the Lakers enter today’s game ninth in the Western Conference, while the Warriors, with a 19-23 record, are eliminated from the play-in race. However, it’s a hot item. The average ticket price for a seat at Saturday’s game at Chase Center is $617, which is the highest of any NBA game or event this year, according to the secondary ticket selling website VividSeats.
While both teams are attempting to construct a contender around aging superstars, their strategies couldn’t be more dissimilar. They’ve both settled into mediocrity. This is the sequence of events.
Lakers
The Lakers’ successful season last year was largely driven by a huge three-team deadline trade involving the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves. In order to surround James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers traded Russell Westbrook and a number of selections for D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt. Los Angeles went on a tear after that, moving up from 13th place in the West to the seventh seed and a play-in berth.
The Lakers are already making appearances in trade speculations in need of a new look as their current one appears to have run its course. The 39-year-old James has been relied upon by Los Angeles much too much to bear the load alongside Davis, with few members of their supporting cast being able to make up for lost time as they did in the previous season. Russell is one of the names circulating in speculations; in his nine-year career, he has played for four different teams.
The statistics are indicative of the Lakers’ mediocrity as a.500 team. With a defensive rating of 114.4, they slightly outperform the league. And with just 29% of their points coming from the 3-point line, which is the second-lowest percentage in the NBA, their desperate hunt for some perimeter scoring to match the firepower around the league last season has failed.
Fighters
The Warriors traded Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Chris Paul over the offseason, sensibly trying to solve their turnover concerns and fix what they saw to be a serious chemistry issue that caused them to lose in the first round of the playoffs before reaching the Finals under Steve Kerr.
It’s true that this move hasn’t been an easy remedy. Due to a mismatched roster that has had difficulty bridging the gap between its younger, up-and-coming players and its more experienced, championship-caliber core, the Warriors are 19-23 and in 12th place. It seems that there is more synergy off the court even though Draymond Green was unable to stay out of trouble. However, because younger, more athletic teams frequently outshoot them at their own shooting game, there is a lack of cohesion on the floor.
Despite some whispers that nearly every player is on the table save for Curry, the Warriors trade deadline rumor mill has been quiet due to the ongoing tragedy.
A few weeks before the trade deadline on February 8th, these two illustrious teams will square off at the pinnacle of this season. The outcome of the match may serve as a yardstick for both franchises.
