What we learned as Warriors beat Lakers to cap undefeated preseason

What we learned as Warriors beat Lakers to cap undefeated preseason originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SAN FRANCISCO – Even without Steph Curry, the Warriors completed their undefeated preseason Friday night at Chase Center, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 132-74.

The Lakers resting LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura on the second night of a back-to-back of course was a factor, too.

From start to finish, however, this was nothing short of pure dominance from the Warriors. They were up by 18 points after the first quarter, 26 at halftime, 42 through three quarters and wound up winning by 58.

Golden State’s scoring came from all avenues as six players scored in double figures. Jonathan Kuminga scored a team-high 17 points, followed by 16 from Brandin Podziemski, who was an absurd plus-39.

Bronny James started for the Lakers and scored 17 points in 35 minutes on 7-of-17 shooting.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors ending the preseason a perfect 6-0.

Sharing The Wealth

Down their starting point guard, the Warriors’ ball movement was crisp as can be from the opening tip. Their first five made shots all were assisted. In fact, the Warriors ended the first quarter with 15 made shots on 14 assists and only one turnover – an errant pass from Draymond Green, who racked up five assists in the first frame.

By halftime, the Warriors were up to 28 made shots and had 21 assists, 15 more than the Lakers’ six assists. They were led by Green’s five assists, and De’Anthony Melton had four, as did Buddy Hield. A total of 11 Warriors played in the first half, and eight recorded at least one assist.

As coach Steve Kerr rested Green in the second half, assist numbers slowed down a bit, but ball movement remained crisp for the most part. The Warriors ended with 37 assists on 51 made shots, turning the ball over only 13 times. They also scored 36 points off 28 Lakers turnovers.

Transition Treys

One of Kerr’s main points of emphasis throughout the preseason was to be a better team in transition, on both sides of the ball. Two examples in the first quarter stood out in how the Warriors can be dangerous offensively in transition with a plethora of 3-point threats.

Grabbing a loose ball off a missed Bronny James shot, Buddy Hield pushed the pace and hit Gary Payton II in the left corner. Hield never stopped running himself, too. Payton immediately rewarded his sharp-shooting teammate, who in one swift motion drained a corner three. Hield all preseason has been a weapon off movement that Kerr should enjoy getting instant offense off the bench.

Hield and Payton then found themselves leading the way one minute later for another transition three, only this time it was off Podziemski’s left hand. Payton grabbed a rebound off a Lakers missed shot and dribbled down the court to find an open Hield behind the 3-point line from the right wing. But instead of letting it fly, Hield gave the ball up to a wide-open Podziemski for three more points.

Golden State’s run-and-gun offense led to going 13 of 36 from deep, Kerr can point to these two examples as positives in film review.

Owning The Paint

For a team that will shoot threes left and right all game long, it was the paint that the Warriors owned early and often. Of their 36 first-quarter points, 22 were in the paint. They scored 66 first-half points, and 40 came in the paint. This wasn’t a case of old-school basketball, but another form of the Warriors excelling at moving without the ball.

Their first offensive possession resulted in a slashing Andrew Wiggins getting to the free-throw line on a shooting foul just a few feet from the hoop. Then, the Warriors’ first made shot was from a Kuminga layup, cutting off a split action and Bronny James not paying attention to him. The next time down the court, a sprinting Kuminga filled the lane and found his way to two more points.

While Kuminga has improved as an outside shooter, he continues to be nearly impossible to stop when he’s on the run and uses his athleticism. Just take a look at his first-half shot chart, where Kuminga scored 12 points without making an outside shot.

There will be nights where the Warriors’ three-ball isn’t falling. Having options like Kuminga and Wiggins attacking, plus Trayce Jackson-Davis as a rim-runner and lob threat, will be a refreshing change of pace to combat poor-shooting games. The Warriors in Friday night’s win to close the preseason scored 68 points in the paint, which were 32 more than the Lakers’ total of 36.

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