For the second straight year, the Los Angeles Lakers began their season with a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. The only difference is that their loss on Tuesday also happened on the night where the Lakers’ players and coaches received their championship rings after the franchise won its first title in a decade in the NBA bubble last season.
But once the game began, the Lakers were reminded that the road to a repeat will not be without challenges as the Clippers led from start to finish in a 116-109 victory. With All-Stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard leading the way, the Clippers’ victory was similar to their 112-102 win in the teams’ season opener last year. Since then, games between the Lakers and Clippers have usually been close, and this one was no different, with the Clippers building an early lead and the Lakers erasing it just before halftime.
But George’s torrid shooting continued in the second half, and with the Lakers pulling All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis from the fourth quarter, the Clippers took the win over their rivals and began their 2020-21 season on a high note.
Here are some key takeaways from the Lakers’ opening day loss.
1. The Lakers can come back as quickly as they fall behind
The loss will partly be blamed on the Lakers still having a championship hangover, especially on the night they received their rings. But Los Angeles had gotten off to slow starts since last season, including in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, which they eventually turned into a blowout win. On Tuesday against the Clippers, the Lakers managed just 19 points in the first quarter as their rivals took a 39-19 lead after the first 12 minutes while shooting a scorching 70 percent from the field.
But as the Purple and Gold also showed last season, they can come back as quickly as they fall behind, erasing a 22-point lead after a strong second quarter and entering the halftime break down by just two, 56-54. The Lakers put the clamps down on the Clippers in the second, holding them to just 17 points 28 percent shooting, and outscoring them, 35-17.
While it is remarkable that the defending champions can quickly erase leads, it is also equally surprising that a team with that much talent can fall behind by a huge margin early in the game. But even if the comeback fell short and the game ended in a loss, the Lakers’ quick comeback in the second quarter showed that no lead is truly safe against them.
2. Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder make a strong first impression
With James and Davis coming off a relatively short offseason, it was former Clipper and reigning Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell who played the most minutes on the Lakers with 32 minutes. He made the most out of his time on the floor, finishing with 17 points on six of seven shooting, 10 rebounds, three assists, and one block off the bench in his first game with the Purple and Gold.
Dennis Schroder, the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year Award who started at point guard, was also productive in his first game as a Laker. The 27-year-old German finished with a near triple-double of 14 points, a team-high 12 rebounds, and eight assists in 28 minutes, although he made just five of 15 shots.
The Lakers’ other notable additions during the offseason were quiet, with big man Marc Gasol going scoreless with one rebound and assist in 12 minutes and guard Wesley Matthews also failing to record a point and tallying just one steal in 11 minutes. Harrell and Schroder, however, showed that they can make an immediate impact for the Lakers and why their acquisitions were widely praised moves during the offseason.
3. An expanded rotation and more rest for LeBron James and Anthony Davis
With about seven minutes left and the Lakers down seven, James went to the bench and did not return to the game. Davis soon followed with about three minutes remaining, sending a clear message that head coach Frank Vogel will take a cautious approach in terms of easing his two All-Stars into the season after a title run and the shortest offseason in NBA history.
In 28 minutes, James finished with 22 points, five rebounds, and five assists, making seven of 17 shots with four turnovers. His 28 minutes were the fewest in a season opener in his career, per ESPN Stats and Info, and the game was also the first time in six years that he failed to record at least a double-double in a season opener.
Davis, meanwhile, ended up with 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting with seven rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes of play while also having four turnovers. After the game, Vogel was clear about his intentions regarding playing James and Davis throughout the season.
“We’re going to be conservative with their minutes early on in the season,” Vogel said, per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “We have the depth to do it. We didn’t play well enough tonight. But we have depth to manage their minutes intelligently early on in the season while we’re trying to get our legs under us and will continue to do so.”
With James and Davis having an early night, Vogel tinkered with his lineup, using 11 players for significant minutes, including Talen Horton-Tucker, who is coming off a string of impressive performances in the preseason. In 11 minutes of action, Horton-Tucker finished with six points, two rebounds, and an assist as he continues to make the case that he should be included in the team’s rotation.
The Lakers would have wanted to take the victory against the Clippers, especially on a night where they received their championship rings. But Vogel also understands that there are 71 more games after the loss to get his players’ legs under them, especially after just 72 days of rest on the heels of a title run. So instead of keeping James and Davis in the game in the final minutes as the Lakers tried to mount a late comeback, Vogel instead used their season opener to experiment with his rotation and see which player combinations will work as the season goes on.
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