The Lakers lost to the the Clippers 116-109 on opening night of the 2020/21 NBA season, the night began with a touching ring ceremony and ended with a Lakers loss.
Key Performances
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were just too much for the Lakers tonight. Paul George went nuclear dropping 33 points in 36 minutes of play. Kawhi was unguardable as well with 26 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds.
The Lakers did have some bright spots in this loss. Harrell and Schröder both had double doubles and kept the team in the game especially during the third quarter. It just wasn’t enough as the Clippers had a response for every Lakers run.
Rotation Confirmed?
At least for tonight, we saw where Vogel ranks his players. The Lakers started with Lebron, AD, KCP, Schröder, and Gasol. Off the bench; Harrell, Kuzma, Matthews, Caruso, Morris, and THT came into the game in that order. The depth of the Lakers has been talked about all preseason long and we saw it today in action in games that counted.
Just Getting Started
Just like Kyle Kuzma, the Lakers are just getting started. They started the game very sloppily and throughout the game you saw short three point misses, tons of turnovers, and missed defensive rotations. This is all to be expected on opening night of a season, but will still a bit jarring to see. As time goes on these errors will be smoothed out.
Next Game
The Lakers are playing the Mavericks next on Christmas Day. It’s a nationally televised game and they’ll be looking to get on the win column for the first time this season.
Lakers Takes 