Obviously, the Warriors’ entire potential can’t be gleaned in a week. But we could get a solid idea of their strengths and weaknesses while battling largely playoff-level competition.
SACRAMENTO KINGS (17-33)
Another day, another DeMarcus Cousins ejection, this time Monday in a 98-91 loss to Utah. But at least give the hotheaded big man some credit for originality.
Not many players could manage to get ejected at HALFTIME as both teams were heading to the locker room. Then again, most players wouldn’t tell a referee not to act like “a (bleeping) female.” (Certainly not while he already had one technical, but probably not at all.)
On the plus side, there are only 32 games left to torture the Kings faithful.
Brian and Andy Kamenetzky are sportswriters and radio hosts who have worked in sports media for over a decade. They have covered the Lakers and the NBA for eight seasons, for both the LATimes.com and ESPN.com, as well as ESPN The Magazine. Follow them on Twitter at @KamBrothers.
Pau definitely showed his value the past three games and that he deserves to be a starting center in this league. If the Lakers truly want to demonstrate they are all-in on Howard, why not trade Pau now? Both KG and Josh Smith seem like realistic options that can stretch the floor in a semi-D’Antoni system and provide a few extra blocks on defense. If we have no intention of firing D’Antoni or trading Howard, then we owe it to Pau and the two rings he brought the franchise to give him a fresh start in a city that wants to feature him.