LeBron James and Stephen Curry kicked off their fifth playoff series against one another on Tuesday, and when the dust settled, the Los Angeles Lakers managed to upset the Golden State Warriors and take a surprising 1-0 lead on the road. While James is his team's headliner, the unquestioned star of the Game 1 victory was Anthony Davis, who racked up 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocks in the victory.
Even though the Warriors were at home, the game wasn't exactly played on an even playing field. The Lakers had been resting since Friday after dispatching the Memphis Grizzlies in six games. The Warriors, on the other hand, needed a Game 7 on Sunday to take care of the Sacramento Kings. That extra bit of rest carried the Lakers through Tuesday, but now both teams enter Game 2 under the same conditions. Here's everything you need to know ahead of Game 2.
(6) Golden State Warriors vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers
- Date: Thursday, May 4 | Time: 9 p.m. ET
- Location: Chase Center -- San Francisco, California
- TV channel: ESPN | Live stream: fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Warriors -5; O/U 227.5 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Storylines
Lakers: Davis was excellent in Game 1, but LeBron James struggled to make jump shots yet again on Tuesday. In his last six playoff games, he's made only six of his 41 3-point attempts. This wouldn't have been an issue at his peak, but the foot injury James is currently playing through has made it far harder for him to get to the basket. If James can't make jumpers and he can't get to the rim, it's going to be incredibly difficult for him to score enough points for the Lakers to win this series.
Warriors: Golden State tried to maintain its big starting lineup in Game 1 with both Draymond Green and Kevon Looney on the floor. It failed on both ends of the floor. Offensively, it allowed the Lakers to aggressively help off of two non-shooters. Defensively, it failed to slow down Anthony Davis, who destroyed Golden State for 44 minutes. Now Golden State has a decision to make: does it sacrifice size and defense to space the floor and make life harder for the Lakers on defense? Or do they stick with what got them here?
Prediction
The Warriors went 33-8 at home in the regular season. The Game 1 loss made sense because of their rest disadvantage. But in a game with both teams on the same schedule, Golden State should have a major advantage. And that should suit the Lakers just fine. They only needed to win one road game to win the series. That's how they took care of the Grizzlies, after all, so expect the Warriors to come back and win Game 2 to tie up the series. The Pick: Warriors -5
