The Golden State Warriors will head to Los Angeles on Friday to take on the Lakers at Staples Center.
After a rough opening night, the Warriors (4-1) look to have already caught their stride, winning four straight games and destroying the Thunder Thursday night in Kevin Durant’s first game against his former teammates. Durant played a big role in that demolition, as he scored 39 points — 29 of which came in the first half — and grabbed seven rebounds in just 31 minutes. But while Durant has been rolling with his new team, the biggest thing to happen on Thursday may have been the reemergence of Klay Thompson, who after starting the season 3-of-28 from behind the arc, went 4-of-8 from 3-point range en route to scoring 18 points. If Thompson can continue to stroke it from outside at an efficient rate on top of Durant and two-time MVP Steph Curry continuing to score at will, this team should have no problem against the Lakers and whatever else lies ahead for them.
That does not mean the Warriors should overlook the Lakers on Friday, however, as they are off to a 2-3 start with quality wins over the Rockets and Hawks. And despite having a losing record, they managed to stay competitive on their four-game road trip they will be returning home from. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, their biggest matchup advantage against the undersized Warriors, center Timofey Mozgov, is doubtful for the game with his eye still swelled after taking an elbow to the face earlier in the week. As a result, the Lakers will need to lean on their backcourt to give them any chance of winning Friday, starting with D’Angelo Russell, who is off to an impressive start in his second NBA season. The point guard out of Ohio State is averaging 16.6 points, 4.8 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game to start the year.
