On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles teams Lakers and Clippers have taken another seasonal feud following the double-header opener of the NBA Season 2020-2021. Before that, the Lakers savored their championship rings that sparkled before their eyes.
It was a thrilling feat for the purple-and-gold team with the pandemic-delayed season. After the awarding, the Lakers assured that their award recognition posed another challenge for them - a reemergence in the upcoming season after the shortest offseason in NBA history.
The most awaited opener has been concluded in favor of the Clippers after a 116-109 win over the Lakers. It might be the first game of the 72-game season, but several game takeaways are considered a predictor of either success or defeat of a Los Angeles team. Let's dive into some key takeaways that we look after the game.
1. Do not Sleep on the Lakers
The opener saw how the Lakers could turn back time in a few minutes. From a 39-19 lead, the Clippers missed how capable are the Lakers in transition offense. Heading to halftime, the Lakers chased the lead to only two points, 56-54, after they only scored 19 points in the first frame. They limited the Clippers to only 17 points, even outsmarting their rival to 12 markers, 35-17.
It is pretty ironic how the Lakers missed many field goal attempts and then trailed a big lead afterward. The ability of the champions to reverse the scores are outstanding. No team should be comfortable with a big lead when they are facing the Lakers.
2. From Pandemic to Terrific P
Paul George was bashed by the fans during the playoffs last season due to his performance. Last night, Pandemic P became the Clippers leader in scoring after dropping 33 points in the season opener against the Lakers. Not only was he the leading scorer of the team, but his 26 points in the second half was also something that the Lakers could not miss.
The Clippers forward enjoyed a 72 percent field goal even though the Lakers were all out in defense. Now, this is a warning for the other teams. Paul George is back with a vengeance, and we are hoping to see the kind of feisty P who sent fears to his enemies. No one knows how long he could keep up with that performance, but this is leeway for the Clippers that when George erupts, start the parade of scores from the bench.
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3. The Mystery behind the Three
Clippers may sound desperate to score when they attempted 40 three-pointers in their latest Los Angeles outing. After all, the Clippers are not a shooting team, but surprisingly, they notched 9-1 when they tested at least 40 attempts from beyond the arc. Their win against the Lakers proved that a lot is going on for this team.
Since Doc Rivers left the team after blowing a 3-1 lead in the playoffs, the Clippers have dwelled on the possibility of the triple miracle. The team was performing well when they reached the quota in trey attempts.
The Clippers reached 14-1 when they made at least 38 attempts and 27-5 when they shot 34. With Ty Lue as the new coach, the three-point journey for the Clippers will be heightened. Lue coached the Cavaliers to end in the top five teams with the most attempts in three. The addition of Serge Ibaka, who had just learned the art of trifecta, will boost the Clippers' campaign in the rainbow territory. Eventually, the three-point ability of Lue will guide the current Clippers to be one of the deadliest teams from beyond the arc.
4. How Vogel Experimented with the Season Opener
The recent showdown of the LA teams saw how reliant the newly-acquired players are. The Sixth Man of the Year, Montrezl Harrell, was a bench starter for the Lakers in the season opener, but he played the most minutes with 32. He scored 17 markers on 86 percent shooting to go with ten boards, three dimes, and one block.
Another new Laker in the team, Dennis Schroeder, showed how to get things done. The German point guard was mediocre in scoring after shooting only five baskets out of 15 attempts en route to 14 points. However, his first meeting with the Clippers nearly put him in a triple-double affair after adding team-high 12 rebounds and eight assists. He filled the stat sheet in just 28 minutes. If LeBron James and Anthony Davis are off-game, these two might fill the space for the Lakers.
Frank Vogel knew the weaknesses of the Lakers, so he used this opener to explore some rotations. Talen Horton-Tucker, who impressed the Lakers through his preseason scoring, recorded six points, two rebounds, and an assist in 11 minutes. The Lakers coach took chances with Marc Gasol and Wesley Matthews, but they did not deliver well. In the future, Vogel could cook up another experiment in the lineup to further test how far the Lakers can go during the short regular season.
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