Warriors cap off perfect preseason with blowout of JV Lakers team

6-0!

A few hours before the Golden State Warriors tipped off their preseason finale, they were dealt with an obstacle that would make. winning a lot harder: Steph Curry was ruled out with a sprained finger. But that obstacle was more than negated by the advantage that the Los Angeles Lakers would give the Dubs: their C-Team.

With the Lakers on the back end of a back-to-back (something that should be illegal in the preseason, if you ask me), they rested all five of their starters. Golden State’s starting five — the same quintet that they rolled out for Tuesday’s win over the Lakers, but with De’Anthony Melton replacing Curry — was opposed by a Lakers five-some composed of players just trying to make the rotation, or in some cases, the roster: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Quincy Olivari, Bronny James, Cam Reddish, and Jaxson Hayes.

The result was exactly what you would expect: a blowout.

Golden State looked athletic and aggressive early on, with Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins leading the charge, attacking the basket relentlessly in transition, with dribble penetration, and with half-court cuts. Draymond Green was doing an elite Brock Purdy impression, and racked up five assists in the first five minutes. With Melton locking down Los Angeles on defense, Trayce Jackson-Davis started to dominate on offense, and the Warriors never looked back. As the teams started to make some subs, Golden State rattled off a 13-0 run to take a 29-12 lead with three minutes left, and the game was never even remotely close after that.

A performance against back-of-the-roster players needs to be taken with a huge grain of salt, but it’s worth noting that against a scrappy lineup (all of the Lakers are fighting to prove they deserve to play), the Warriors finished the first quarter with 13 assists to just one turnover. The offense was aggressive and fast-paced, but highly disciplined, intelligent, and in control. And most importantly, the Warriors led 36-18 after the first frame.

It was more of the same to start the second quarter. The ball was moving brilliantly, and Moses Moody continued his spectacular preseason with fantastic offense, while Melton continued to show off on the defensive end. As the half wore on, the offense started to get stagnant, and the Dubs got a little trigger-happy from three-point range. They “only” had 21 assists to five turnovers at the half, at a 66-40 lead.

Steve Kerr didn’t let Curry’s absence keep him from playing the bulk of his rotation players big minutes. Moody replaced Green in the starting lineup for the second half, but it was the same other four players. The Dubs had no mercy for the helpless Lakers, as they kept their foot on the gas all quarter, pushing the lead to 104-62. The only life from the Lakers came from the rookie James, who even got the Warriors crowd a little excited with some solid third-quarter play, easily having the best game of his extremely young career.

The highlight, though, came between quarters. Former Warriors general manager Bob Myers was the color analyst for the game, and also filled in as sideline reporter for in-game interviews, talking to Kerr between the third and fourth quarter. There’s clearly still a lot of love between Myers and the Warriors, as he and Kerr razzed each other, with Curry coming over to get in on the action. Myers playfully accused Kerr of coaching better now than when Myers was around, while Kerr said that Mike Dunleavy Jr. is doing a better job with the roster. Curry chirped that he was getting PTSD from meetings with Myers, and ran back to the bench. Hugs and laughter was exchanged all around.

With the blowout firmly secured, the Warriors coasted to a victory, keeping their rotation players in for much of the fourth quarter, and continuing to play hard. When the buzzer sounded, it was a laughable 132-74 victory, and a perfect 6-0 preseason.

Despite only playing 19 minutes, Kuminga led the Warriors with 17 points (plus four rebounds), while shooting 7-for-11 from the field. Wiggins, who looked substantially less rusty than in his preseason debut on Tuesday, had a delightful game, finishing with 13 points on 4-for-9 shooting, with three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. TJD finished with 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting and added in five assists and four blocks, while Melton did his best Curry impression to go along with his great defense, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 while dishing five dimes.

Brandin Podziemski had a very Brandin Podziemski game, netting 16 points (albeit on inefficient shooting), four rebounds, two assists, three steals, and multiple notable hustle plays, while finishing with a game-high +39 in just 21 minutes. Moody and Buddy Hield both had 14 points and four rebounds on 5-for-9 shooting, while Hield added four assists. Rookie Quinten Post popped in for the final seven minutes and showed off his pick-and-pop ability, making all three of his shots ... including a pair of triples.

Next step: the real stuff.