Game Day: Warriors And LeBron James Meet Again

Dennis O’Donnell and Wes Goldberg of the San Jose Mercury News preview Wednesday’s matchup between the Warriors and Lakers in the NBA’s new play-in tournament. (5-17-21)

Video Transcript

DENNIS O’DONNELL: Joining us now is Wes Goldberg. He covers the Golden State Warriors for the Bay Area News Group, also hosts a daily podcast called “Locked on Warriors.” Wes, good to have you on “Game Day.”

WES GOLDBERG: Appreciate it. Thanks for having me.

DENNIS O’DONNELL: So this is the marquee match-up, right? Lakers and Warriors, everybody wanted to see this game. By all standards, it is the high-profile game. Who do you like, and why?

WES GOLDBERG: You know, the Lakers are healthy right now. They’ve got LeBron. Anthony Davis is back. Dennis Schroder is back from an extended stay in the health and safety protocol. And so this was a team, if we remember, that, at the beginning of the year, seemed to be rolling and on-track to repeat and defend their championship from last year.

And so for that reason, if they’re healthy, which is a question– LeBron tweaked his ankle at the end of that game. It sounds like people in LA think he’s going to be OK. But if they’re healthy, I like the Lakers in the match-up.

But again, the way that the Warriors have been playing, it’s not going to be an easy one for the Lakers, right? This is going to be two teams playing the best that they have played in a very long while, meeting in a winner-take-all game for the number seven seed.

DENNIS O’DONNELL: So before Dillon Brooks fouled out today, I thought he did a phenomenal job on Steph Curry. Obviously, he fouled out with six minutes to go. Everything changed. How will the Lakers counter on covering Steph Curry?

WES GOLDBERG: That’s a great question because they don’t have a Dillon Brooks, right? They’ve got a lot of bodies that they can throw. Like Alex Caruso will get a turn, Kentavius Caldwell-Pope. They got a lot of guys who can certainly try to chase Steph around. But the way Dillon Brooks did it, singularly in that match-up, really, I thought, kept the Grizzlies in the game for most of the game until, like you mentioned, he fouled out, which was a huge swing point in the game.

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But what the Lakers can do is take away some other things, right? What we have seen Steph do this year is get to the rim better than he’s ever gotten to the rim, right? And it’s not just the three-point. He’s doing it from all three levels on the floor.

And with the Lakers, they have so much size and so many long limbs that they’re going to crowd the paint for Steph. And they’re going to throw so many bodies and double team him when he comes across half court, that, if he’s trying to bait guys with that three-point shot to get to the basket, there’s just not going to be that much room there.

DENNIS O’DONNELL: So what can you take away from the Warriors’ and Lakers’ previous meetings this season? Two games were blowouts, one, the Warriors one, which AD actually played in that Warrior victory. What can you draw from those games? And apply it to Wednesday.

WES GOLDBERG: Not much, honestly. I mean, those games happened so long ago. And I think both of these teams are in very different places, right? Obviously, the Lakers added Andre Drummond, which him or Blake Griffin to the Nets, one of those two are the biggest buyout additions midseason.

And for the Warriors, they’re completely different, right? I mean, Kevon Looney is now entrenched as a starter. James Wiseman’s now part of the rotation. They have really shortened this rotation to their best eight guys.

DENNIS O’DONNELL: You wrote an the article, Wes, suggesting three things the Warriors can do to win in the playoffs. Number one, increase Steph’s minutes, rely on a more tightened rotation. And the third, employ the new depth lineup. What is the new depth lineup?

WES GOLDBERG: Yeah. It’s a little hyperbolic, that’s certainly one thing that it is. But–

DENNIS O’DONNELL: [CHUCKLES]

WES GOLDBERG: It’s Steph Curry and Draymond Green playing the five, as he did in those old school depth lineups, and then finally finding guys who know how to play off of that dynamic, that Draymond-Steph Curry two-man game.

You surround those guys with Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, and Juan Toscano-Anderson. Juan Toscano-Anderson is sort of the skeleton key that unlocks that entire situation. And his ability to guard several different positions, to playmake in a way that takes a little bit of that off of Draymond’s plate and a little bit of that off of Steph’s plate and is able to get Steph open.

They play quick. They get up and down in transition. They guard really well. They switch everything. And it’s just a bunch of guys who are competitors but also gamers.

DENNIS O’DONNELL: So Wes, you go to Vegas. You have $100 bet on this game. Who you picking?

WES GOLDBERG: Ha. I don’t think people in the Bay Area want to hear this. But I’m probably going to go with the Lakers. I mean, this is a team– if it weren’t for these injuries that they’re just now over, they’re probably not a team that’s even in this play-in tournament right now.

DENNIS O’DONNELL: Wes, I appreciate the time. We enjoy your podcast daily. I’m going to guess. Is it sponsored by [INAUDIBLE]

[LAUGHTER]

WES GOLDBERG: It is. I had one today.

DENNIS O’DONNELL: What flavor?

WES GOLDBERG: I had lemon-orange today at halftime.

DENNIS O’DONNELL: [LAUGHTER]

That’s your favorite? I understand. Hey, Wes, I appreciate the time. Good luck going forward. I want to see you at Chase Center.

WES GOLDBERG: Thanks for having me.