The strongest conclusion to take away from the Lakers’ abbreviated playoff run was how badly the team needs a playable center. By not having a big who could stay on the floor, the Lakers were forced into small ball lineups that wore down pretty quickly.
That will be priority No. 1, bolded, underlined and circled on the Lakers whiteboard for the offseason. However, it won’t be the only upgrade the Lakers are looking to make.
Perhaps lost in the background of the Wolves series was the lack of defense and athleticism the Lakers had on the wing. It was perhaps shown most in how much success Jalen McDaniels had throughout the series.
In his exit interview with the media, President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka spoke about that being a need for the team to address this offseason.
“I think just in terms of solidifying our defensive core on the wing and just making sure we have players that can defend the wing position,” Pelinka said. “That’s an essential need. We see it playing out in the playoffs. Any time you can upgrade your defensive core on the perimeter, I think that’s going to help.
It’s going to be tricky for the Lakers to address their multiple needs this offseason due to their financial limitations. Barring a drastic change to the roster, they’ll only have minimum contracts and the taxpayer mid-level exception to use on free agents.
They do, however, have a host of tradable contracts. It’ll take a fair amount of wheeling and dealing for the Lakers to improve their roster. There is also the fact that every team is looking for strong defensive wings, too. Competition is fierce for those types of players.
But if the Lakers are serious about building a contender around Luka — and all signs so far appear that is the case — then Pelinka and the front office will need to find a solution to their smaller, but still impactful problem with their roster.
After all the teasing Buddy Hield has endured from Warriors teammate Jimmy Butler, the Golden State guard got the last laugh in Game 7 on Sunday night.
Hield was the star of the Warriors’ 103-89 win over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center, scoring 33 points on 12-of-15 shooting with an NBA record-tying nine 3-pointers as Golden State advanced to the Western Conference semifinals — much to the dismay of Butler, who loves giving Hield a hard time.
“I plead the Fifth,” Butler told Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike on “Warriors Postgame Live” after the win, who had asked the star forward if Hield is included now, a nod to Butler’s viral Instagram post where he thanked all the Warriors, “excluding Buddy,” after missing their Game 3 win with a pelvic injury.
It’s all in good fun, of course. Butler and Hield love ribbing each other after games, and the latter served it right back during his postgame press conference.
Jimmy didn’t say nothing to me yet,” Hield told reporters. “I’m not going to get on Jimmy yet; I’m going to keep it calm, but today I had to fill his role for him in the first half. He was slacking. But we all weathered the storm, and it was a great team win.”
And the shenanigans didn’t stop there. Hield welcomed Butler to the podium after his own presser was over, trolling his teammate every step of the way.
But after Butler got in a few more joking digs on Hield, the six-time NBA All-Star heaped praise upon the unofficial MVP of Game 7.
“Buddy was huge,” Butler told reporters. “But we know the type of basketball player he is, and he’s a tough cover for sure whenever he’s making shots. But he made so many right plays on the defensive side of the ball where it needed to go. Buddy was really, really, really, really big for us tonight.
Luckily for Dub Nation, they’ll be treated to an entirely new NBA playoff series featuring plenty more of Butler and Hield’s hijinks. The Warriors now head to Minnesota for a best-of-seven series against Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves, starting with Game 1 at 6:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday.
Immediately after pulling off a first-round NBA playoff series upset over the No. 2 Houston Rockets on Sunday at Toyota Center, Warriors stars Steph Curry and Draymond Green had a heart-to-heart moment on the floor.
Golden State, after nearly fumbling a 3-1 series lead, clinched their ticket to the Western Conference semifinals with a 103-89 win over Houston, giving Curry and Green plenty to be proud of.
“We were just talking about the score,” Curry told reporters after the win. “We wanted to keep them under 90 [points].
Curry, who provided little offensive output the first three quarters of the game, scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. Green, on the other hand, contributed 16 points, delivering his best offensive performance when it mattered most.
As Curry noted, the Warriors’ offense and defense held their ends of the bargain.
We had done it a couple of times, and we won,” Curry added. “We felt very confident that if we did that again, we’d be able to score enough to create some separation, and that’s kind of how it played out.”
Curry and Green’s postgame moment didn’t end there, however.
As both players made their way to the locker room, Green celebrated loud and clear, shouting, “Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!’”
Curry, as seen in the video, loved every bit of it.
On Sunday night, Houston witnessed moments that only Golden State playoff basketball — with Curry and Green leading the way — can produce.
HOUSTON (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, Buddy Hield made nine 3-pointers and scored 33 points, and the Golden State Warriors advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 103-89 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 7 Sunday night.
The Warriors will face the Timberwolves Tuesday night in Minnesota.
Hield had a scorching first half with six 3-pointers and 22 points to carry the Warriors to a 12-point lead, with Curry scoring just three points before the break. Then Curry took over in the closing minutes and performed his signature “night night” gesture as the Warriors put the Rockets away.
The Warriors became the seventh No. 7 seed in NBA history to advance to the semifinals and eliminated Houston in the playoffs for a fifth time. They sent the James Harden-led Rockets squads packing four times between 2015 and 2019.
Hield was 9 of 11 from 3-point range, setting an NBA record for a Game 7 and making more 3s than the Rockets, who were 6 of 18 from long range. Curry added 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Amen Thompson scored 24 points to lead Houston, which forced Game 7 with two straight wins but couldn’t put away the experienced Warriors.
Golden State led by eight entering the fourth and opened the quarter with a 5-0 run, capped by a 3 from Curry, to make it 75-62.
Houston scored the next six points, but the Warriors used a 7-2 spurt with four points from Curry to make it 82-70 with about seven minutes left.
Curry made a contested 3, rebounded a missed jumper by Thompson and found Hield for an open corner 3 that made it 94-74 with 2:31 remaining.
That sent many of the red-clad Rockets fans streaming for the exits.
Jimmy Butler added 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors, who improved to 28-11 since his debut on Feb. 8 after a trade from Miami.
Fred VanVleet scored a combined 55 points in the last two games to help Houston extend the series. But he was limited to 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting Sunday to send the second-seeded Rockets home early in their first trip to the playoffs since 2020.
He was far from the only Rocket who struggled. Big man Alperen Sengun had 21 points and 14 rebounds. But he missed several easy shots on a 9-of-23 night.
Jalen Green, who had 38 points to lead Houston to a Game 2 win, finished with eight points.
Houston trailed by 15 before using a big run to get within three points in the third, but Golden State ended the quarter with a 7-2 run to take a 70-62 lead into the fourth.
The Warriors played without key reserve Gary Payton II, who sat out with an illness that coach Steve Kerr said had him “sick as a dog.”
Draymond Green added 16 points for the Warriors, who had four starters score in double figures.
Don’t tell the Clippers they overachieved this season based on preseason NBA predictions that had them vying for a play-in spot in the uber-competitive Western Conference because Kawhi Leonard started the season dealing with right knee injury management and Paul George had bolted to the 76ers.
Don’t tell the Clippers they exceeded expectations with a 50-32 record and a fifth seed in the West despite odds against that happening.
They always viewed themselves in a different light and refused to listen to the “outside noise” that pointed to the Clippers finishing in the bottom half of the conference.
By losing to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs, the Clippers failed to achieve their goals for the season.
Whether you overachieve or not, when you lose in the playoffs, it’s tough,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after the team’s 120-101 loss in Game 7 on Saturday. “And, so, I feel bad. … Our players feel bad. Like I said, that’s all you think about is this game. You’re not thinking about the season. You’re just thinking about things you could have done better when we got to this point and it’s frustrating to go out like this. So, how I feel, I’m pissed off.
The Clippers became one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, holding teams to 108.2 points per game (fifth-best in the league) while posting a defensive rating of 109.4 (third-best).
But with George gone and Leonard out the first 34 games, did the Clippers achieve more than they should have?
“Hell naw. Hell naw. We didn’t overachieve nothing,” said Derrick Jones Jr., a top defender for the team this season. “We believed from Day 1. The outside noise is the outside noise. We don’t care for it. We believe who we believe in and we knew that we could make it to where we made it to and go further. … We fell short.”
The Clippers have 12 players under contract and two players on two-way deals.
Leonard, 33, has two years left on his contact at about $50 million per season. He played in 37 regular season games and all seven playoff games. Importantly, Leonard is going into the offseason healthy.
“To be able to start a training camp and to be able to start the season, which would be great,” Leonard said. “I am happy that I’m healthy coming out of the game. But I wished we would have had a better outcome.”
“To start a training camp with him healthy, I think will be great for us,” Lue said. “I think putting guys in their position where they can be successful and not having to do too much and having your best player to start the season, I think is very encouraging.”
James Harden had a very good regular season, averaging 22.8 points and 8.7 assists (fifth-best in the NBA). But he had a disastrous Game 7 — he scored just seven points — and had an uneven series that was yet another disappointment for the point guard.
He has a player option for $36 million and must give the Clippers a decision by June 29. Harden is not eligible for an extension if he opts in, but can get one if he opts out. Considering he turns 36 in August, it’ll be interesting to see what Harden does and what the Clippers are willing to do.
Norman Powell, 31, turned in a career-best season, averaging 21.8 points per game. He has one year left on his deal at $20.4 million and probably will be looking for an extension.
Ivica Zubac became one of the league’s best centers. He averaged career highs in points (16.8), rebounds (12.6), assists (2.7) and games played (80). He begins his three-year, $58.6-million extension next season.
Zubac and Powell were two of the big reasons why the Clippers were so successful during the regular season
