The Lakers fell to the Clippers in Tuesday night's season-opener, 112-102. There were several interesting takeaways from the game, but it was clear that the Lakers could have used Kyle Kuzma's services.
Though they got solid contributions from their stars, the Lakers were without Kuzma, as he is still recovering from a stress reaction in his left foot. He's getting closer to being cleared for contact in practice runs, but most reports are indicating that he'll miss all of October. Los Angeles will take a cautious approach to his return.
With Rajon Rondo (calf) also out for Tuesday's game, the Lakers utilized LeBron James at the point guard position. James can handle this role, but it certainly would have been nice to have another ball handler like Kuzma on the court.
The Lakers won the first quarter, 25-22. However, the Clippers outscored the Lakers by 11 points in the second frame (30-29). The Lakers came out of the halftime locker room strong, winning the third quarter by a margin of 31-23. Unfortunately, though, the Lakers were only able to muster 17 points in the final quarter.
Surprisingly, it was Danny Green who led the Lakers in scoring. His 28 points were more than those of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That's not to say James and Davis didn't play well, because they did. James nearly had a triple-double (18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists), while Davis racked up 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
All things considered, the Lakers' 1-2 punch of James and Davis performed well.
“For us, we're both aggressive,” Davis told ESPN after Tuesday's loss. “Sometimes we kind of miss each other. I missed him a couple times and he missed me, so just trying to figure it out.”
Kyle Kuzma's absence may not have been the determining factor in Tuesday's loss, but the Lakers could have used his ball handling and offensive production. Last season, the former No. 27 overall pick turned in averages of 18.7 points on 45.6 percent shooting from the field (30.3 percent from beyond the arc), 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He's improved in each of his first two NBA seasons, and he'll be looking to continue that trend when he returns to action.
The Clippers may have taken the first bout in the rejuvenated “Battle for LA,” but the two sides are scheduled to meet three more times this season. Whichever side comes out on top, it seems the real winner in this equation is the fans in Southern California.
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