Anywhere south of Fresno, California seems to be Laker territory, which is ironic considering that the Warriors once played regular season games in San Diego at one point in their history. But Oracle Arena seems to transform into Staples Center-lite whenever they face each other during the regular season. So, I guess technically the Warriors are playing on the Lakers’ home turf, all the time and everywhere.
Since their last game, the Warriors have trimmed their squad down to 15, decidedly staying with Jeff Adrien. A backup big man, to the Warriors, apparently seemed to have more value than having a backup point guard. I wonder if Jeremy Lin is feeling some heat with Matt Steinmetz post about the Warriors struggling free agent rookie taking a spot of someone else that could shore up a less than formidable backup backcourt.
The Warriors continue to sputter on the road and it seems to be a trend that Coach Keith Smart needs to figure out soon before it becomes a habit as the season begins.
With Kobe resting with injuries, the Lakers are relying on everyone else to pick up the slack. The Lakers have relied on the leadership of Ron Artest and Lamar Odom so far and the results have been good. Shannon Brown has known to be the highlight film against the Warriors, but his off-season training shows that he’s looking to be more than just a dunker. Expect the bench to get a lot of burn as the team rest its stars against the road-cursed Warriors.
And as much as Brown tries to resist, we can expect a few ESPN top 10 worthy or nominated plays. He just can’t deny it.