Well, yesterday was, for lack of a better word, amazing. The Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves and had a lot of fun doing it. There was a little bit of everything, including a Chris Kaman sighting (!) who had huge block on Corey Brewer that led to a Wesley Johnson fast break dunk. There was Xavier Henry doing great things on offense and creating fast breaks on defense. There was some vintage Pau Gasol action last night, finishing two assists shy of a triple-double. And then there was Nick Young. "The Swag Mamba", as ESPN called him last night, had an enormous game with 25 points and 4 assists off the bench, continuing his run of excellent play as he has scored in double digits in 12 straight games, dating back to the November 26th game against the Washington Wizards. Young was showing an excellent repertoire last night, hitting close shots, mid range shots and long three pointers and even showed a bit of a post game. His energy completely infected the rest of his teammates as everybody was moving the ball and playing hard on defense. The team was so fired up, that Gasol did the Nick Young Three Point Celebration after he hit a three pointer (!!) late in the 4th:
Now, the Lakers have to focus on the Golden State Warriors, who have split the season series against the Lakers, completely dominating Los Angeles during a 125-94 win at Oracle Arena back in October, and dropping the second game in the series 102-95 at Staples Center. The Warriors are one of the most explosive offensive teams around, and are one of the best shooting teams in the league. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson (son of former Laker Mychal Thompson) are known as the "Splash Bros." for a reason; they are both shooting over 41% from three and they are both averaging over 19 points per game. Curry is at a ridiculous 24.5 points and 9.3 assists per game, but he also leads the league in turnovers with 101 total (4.2 per game). The Warriors have been terrible at protecting the ball, averaging 17.3 turnovers per game being ranked 28th in the league.
Golden State will have Andre Iguodala for tonight's contest, who might be their best playmaker because of his athleticism and strength that go perfectly with his 6'6'' frame. Iguodala is an able passer and a good scorer when the team needs him to be; he's the Warriors most dynamic player because he's also a very good defensive player, often times covering the other team's best player. And the Warriors have also have Andrew Bogut protecting the rim, so if the Lakers want to be successful tonight, they need to move the ball.
Golden State also has a solid offensive low post presence with David Lee, who is averaging 17.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. The Lakers must be very careful with Lee, as he possesses a very good mid-range game to go along with his very good post game; expect the Warriors to win the rebound battle with Bogut and Lee overpowering the Lakers smaller front line. The Lakers need to pressure Curry and try to force in play turnovers, but at the same time, they need to be careful of when they choose to gamble for a steal as Curry and Thompson simply do not miss when left open. The team will need to be come out with energy and close out on all of the Warriors' shooters, while still trying to help down low on David Lee. Trying to stop the Warriors is an extremely tough task for any team; the Lakers will need to be on their guard throughout the game.
UPDATE: Pau Gasol will miss tonight's contest with an upper respiratory infection. This game just got a whole lot tougher for the Lakers.
