Los Angeles Lakers: 3 takeaways from Christmas win over Warriors

1. Size and athleticism created problems for Golden State

Magic Johnson said in an NBA Summer League interview with ESPN that he built this team to beat the Golden State Warriors through toughness and defense. The Lakers’ defensive consistency has not been as strong as they’d like, but the way they locked in on a single opponent for their Christmas victory showed how stifling they can be when full effort is given.

The Lakers doubled Stephen Curry (5-for-17 from the field, 2-for-8 on 3-point attempts) and Kevin Durant (5-for-13 from the field, 3-for-8 on 3-point attempts), packed the paint, and dared the likes of Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Kevon Looney to beat them with jump shots. Yes, the Warriors missed some shots they usually make, but all you can do is make life as difficult as possible for the best shooting team in the world.

The Lakers have size across the board and can switch any screen when they choose to, but with shooting not always there for Golden State this season, on-ball defenders can fight through screens and challenge shots, or recover in time to contain drives. Only Brandon Ingram lacked a size advantage over his opponent (Durant), but he’s lanky enough to more than hold his own.

Not only was the defensive game plan impressive, but making Curry work on defense by posting Lonzo Ball up against him can affect the two-time MVP on both sides of the floor. When Curry switches on defense, he usually ends up guarding the opponent’s best perimeter player and is stuck in a isolation situation.

The Lakers opted to throw Lonzo the ball in the post against Curry and have him read the situation from the low block. This is another way to get Curry out of his comfort zone, which can sometimes linger to the offensive end while wearing him out.

It’s only one game and weird things happen on Christmas Day games, but this is exactly what the Lakers front office hoped for when building this team around LeBron James: depth across the wing, size at every position, offering perimeter opponents different looks and playing physical defense that potentially creates some problems for Golden State.

Now, carrying this effort and focus — with or without LeBron for a period of time — into other games not featuring the Warriors is the next step in the development of this team.