SAN FRANCISCO: The Los Angeles Lakers were on their second night of a back-to-back playing Monday night in Sacramento, so coach JJ Redick decided to rest Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler. The Warriors took advantage in a 124-98 blowout win.
The Dubs led by 28 at halftime. Stephen Curry was +26 and had 16 points in 14 minutes. Steph made a team high three triples and shot 4/7 from the field. Meanwhile, Draymond Green was a +25 and had three points and eight assists.
The biggest bright spot of the evening was the contributions from the young guns, Yaxel Lendeborg and Brandin Podziemski. Lendeborg finished with 17 points, and Podziemski had 16.
Positive Takeaways
New Starting Lineup Emerges
Much of the offseason was spent on whether Yaxel Lendeborg was going to start right away, and I think after the first two preseason games, it is safe to say yes. All it really took was one game for Steve Kerr to find his lineup. He replaced Al Horford with Gui Santos to join Curry, Podziemski, Lendeborg, and Green last night.
Curry, Santos, Podziemski, and Green spent much of last year playing together. That lineup produced a 111.6 offensive rating and 102.1 defensive rating. Adding Lendeborg to this group now should make it even better, especially with some added youth and athleticism to the mix.
Coach Kerr has to be pleased with what he saw last night from this lineup as they raced out to an early 11-2 lead and combined to score 56 first-half points, giving the Warriors a 28-point lead at halftime. With Kristaps Porzingis’ absence, this might be the lineup Kerr goes with to open the season.
Yaxel Lendeborg shines
The message from Kerr and many of the Warriors’ veterans to Yaxel Lendeborg, after their trip to Hawaii and first preseason game against the Clippers, was to BE AGGRESSIVE.
It appears that Yaxel understood their message clearly. Last night, he displayed what made him a top 15 pick; he showed the numerous ways he can get a bucket. Whether it was draining a corner three or going coast-to-coast on his own for an easy layup. He was doing it all last night.
Lendeborg led the Warriors with a game-high 17 points on an efficient 7-10 shooting from the field in the first half and also led the team with eight rebounds.
Lendeborg is likely to receive significant playing time early on from Kerr and will be a big part of the Warriors rotation this year.
The next preseason game is Wednesday night in Portland. Not making the trip, per the team: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Yaxel Lendeborg, Al Horford, Brandin Podziemski, De’Anthony Melton, Gui Santos, Georges Niang, and Gary Payton II.
Tipoff is at 7 PM PST.
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