Lakers Lose James, But Gain Future

Last night was special for many reasons. It was Christmas Day, the start of holidays, but for NBA fans it represented the night of good basketball.

Furthermore, they had the opportunity to watch the biggest game of the season so far, between the reigning champions and their future challengers. The Golden State Warriors hosted the Los Angeles Lakers at Oracle Arena and suffered a devastating loss, 101-127.

Just a few could have imagined such an outcome, especially after what happened during the third quarter, when LeBron James had to go out because of an injury.

At that moment, GSW got awfully close to Lakers, but other Lakers players stepped up and did what just a few believed.

Win.

“This is unchartered territory, obviously, with this group,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “But this is what we’ve been talking about. This is what we try to plan for — not that [James] gets hurt, but being able to play and win and compete when he’s not on the floor.”

Ivica Zubac and Rajon Rondo made a decisive effort to deny Golden State’s rush early in the last period, by scoring 17 points, and completely stunning already dazzled champs.

The young Croat had 18 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 9 of 10 from the field and controlling the paint very well. In the last few games, Zubac showed excellent improvement, and he could be that surprise in the Lakers roster this season.

Ivica Zubac protects the rim for the @Lakers! 💪#LakeShow 52#DubNation 37#NBAXmas on ABC/ESPN pic.twitter.com/8UQCsy3nZi

— NBA (@NBA) December 26, 2018

Rondo is no surprise at all. One of the best playmakers of all times scored 15 points and added 10 assists in just 23 minutes on the floor, guiding this team when LBJ went out.

“We been talking about it the whole year, we are very deep team, when a guy goes down, got to step up. That is the same moto the whole year, and that’s what we did tonight.”

Lakers had 7 players with a double-digit number of points; Kyle Kuzma had a team-high with 19 buckets, while LeBron contributed with 17 and 13 boards before getting out. The guests also had an excellent shooting percentage with 55.3% from the field. They hit 13 threes from 33 tries.

Still, their victory was a bit neglected because of James’ injury. With 8:15 until the end of the third period, James slipped while trying to regain the possession of the ball lost after Draymond Greene managed to poke it. He then made the situation worse while trying to get back in defense.

However, LBJ is not too concerned, as he believes that his recovery won’t take much time.

“With me with injuries, I’m never too concerned about them. I was able to walk off on my own power. I felt a pop, see if I could stretch it a few times, see if it would relieve but it didn’t.”

LeBron James gives an update on the groin injury that forced him to exit Tuesday's matchup against the Warriors. #GameTime pic.twitter.com/R5o95ak0cy

— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 26, 2018

If by any chance No.23 has to sit out for a couple of days, it is going to be an excellent test for this Lakers crew, to see how they handle the situation without him. There is a lot of talent among these players, which needs to be developed regardless of James presence.

That is why Luke Walton said that last night’s final quarter was an “unchartered territory”. The first impressions are that the Lakers have good depth and that the youngsters and Rondo could form a respectable team.

Luke Walton reflects on the team stepping up with LeBron going down with an injury to secure the win over the Warriors on Christmas. #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/VJqShv8RrG

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 26, 2018

The question is whether they have the consistency to provide these kinds of performances like they did last night on a regular basis.

Also, battles in the postseason are much different than during the regular part, and that is something where LBJ’s experience is absolutely needed.

All in all the Lakers showed that they could be good without their best player. Knowing LeBron, his absence won’t be often, which means that purple and gold have the potential to challenge any team in the league after blowing out champs as they did.