After five games on the road, the Los Angeles Lakers finished their preseason slate against the Golden State Warriors.
Given that it was their final preseason game, head coach JJ Redick opted to rest his starters and give the younger players on the roster more run. Redick started Jalen Hood-Schifino, Bronny James, Quincy Olivari, Cam Reddish and Jaxson Hayes, and the group started the game off with great energy on both ends.
However, Los Angeles’s youth and inexperience proved too much to overcome, and the team lost its final preseason game against Golden State 132-74.
Hayes started off the scoring for the Lakers with a layup, and James followed it up with his own layup after a nice dish from Hood-Schifino. The Warriors starters eventually started to out-execute the purple and gold on both ends and took an 18-12 lead midway through the first.
Draymond Green extended Golden State with his playmaking from the post area, while Los Angeles struggled to score on the other end. The Lakers’ inability to score allowed the Warriors to take a commanding 36-18 lead going into the second.
L.A. continued their poor play on both ends of the floor, letting Golden State steadily increase their lead. Olivari caught a bit of a rhythm after hitting some jumpers, but the Lakers still found themselves down 24 halfway through the second.
Olivari was the lone bright spot on the offensive end, as he made some tough jumpers against the Warriors’ defense. It didn’t amount to much, though, as Los Angeles went into halftime trailing 66-40.
James got the team going to start the third with a couple of solid finishes at the rim. He and Olivari were basically the offense, and the two connected for a highlight-reel lob midway through the third.
L.A.’s defense was almost non-existent, and Golden State took full advantage of the quality of looks it got. The lead eventually snowballed, and the Lakers went into the fourth down 104-62.
The beginning of the fourth was another outing for the young group as there were several defensive lapses that had to have been upsetting for head coach JJ Redick. Colin Castleton had a good stretch rebounding the ball and staying active near the rim, but the defense remained a mess.
The rest of the night breezed by with the game out of hand and the Lakers would end the preseason with a blowout loss.