SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors were supposed to make their preseason finale a dress rehearsal game, but their plans got nixed when Steph Curry sprained his right index finger, sidelining him out of precaution.
It wouldn’t have been much of a true test, anyway. The Lakers, on the second night of a bizarre preseason back-to-back, sat just about every notable player. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves each didn’t play, making the game more like varsity-versus-JV than even an exhibition.
Against the Lakers’ skeleton crew, Golden State skated to a 132-74 victory to cap a perfect 6-0 preseason. They’re the only team in the NBA to go undefeated in the preseason.
To beat Los Angeles, the Warriors shot 58.3% and posted a 21:5 assist-to-turnover ratio in the first half before completely running the Lakers out of Chase Center. Jonathan Kuminga scored a team-high 17 points and six Warriors registered double digits. Bronny James, in a starting role for the Lakers, scored 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting.
The Warriors blitzed Los Angeles from the start. They started the same jumbo-sized lineup as they did in Las Vegas against the Lakers, only with De’Anthony Melton in Curry’s spot. That group hit seven of its first nine shots, with almost everything coming in the paint.
Aside from a couple defensive hiccups from Jonathan Kuminga, the unit dominated like they should. Then the bench came in after seven minutes and scored 13 unanswered points, pushing the pace and draining a pair of 3s.
Brandin Podziemski, in his first game since breaking his nose, scored 10 points in his first six minutes. He canned a pair of triples, one off an excellent extra pass from Buddy Hield, and got rewarded for well-timed backdoor cuts.
Podziemski has played in a protective mask before, when he broke his nose in college at Santa Clara, so there wasn’t much of an adjustment period for him with the translucent mask. He would’ve played on Tuesday, too, but the mask didn’t arrive in time.
In the opening quarter in which Golden State won, 36-18, Moses Moody didn’t get off the bench. Although the dress rehearsal got canceled, him being the 11th Warrior to touch the court is noteworthy. The Warriors have 13 players for 10 rotation spots, and Steve Kerr has several tough conversations to have.
Moody, the team’s leading preseason scorer, has had a tremendous offseason, and has earned playing time on merit, but still could get squeezed out of the crowded rotation.
Kuminga, who is entering his fourth year like Moody, was featured more in the half court than in recent preseason games. On one play, he hit a face-up 15-footer. Soon after, he posted up his man from near the 3-point line, backing his way under the basket for a reverse layup.
The Warriors led the Lakers by double digits the entire night, taking a 66-40 advantage into halftime and pushing it to 42 to end the third quarter off a flurry from Hield (14 points in 15 minutes) and a fast-break dunk from Podziemski.
Moody started the second half in place of Draymond Green, who was only scheduled to play the first half. Green was effective in his 16 minutes, dishing five assists and drawing a charge. He earned the chance to sit and watch his teammates’ onslaught.
The fourth quarter devolved into something only resembling basketball. Players walked during plays and chucked 3s. A Laker dribbled a handoff off his leg and out of bounds. Pat Spencer led the reserves with a dunk and a trio of assists, pushing the lead over 50.
Friday’s game was a complete throwaway. The score didn’t indicate anything. An undefeated preseason probably doesn’t mean much at all, either.
But winning can’t hurt.
“I like winning, so that part has been good,” Steve Kerr said pregame. “I like where we are, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”
