Lakers player grades: L.A. falls short to Warriors in season opener

The Lakers fought hard against the Warriors, but they couldn’t hit often enough from downtown to give themselves a shot at victory.

At long last, the 2022-23 NBA regular season is underway, and the Los Angeles Lakers have taken the court for what they hope will be a bounce-back season after all that transpired last year.

A tough first portion of the schedule commenced on Tuesday night with a matchup against the Golden State Warriors, the defending world champions.

At times, the Lakers executed new head coach Darvin Ham’s vision beautifully. When they defended and gained possession of the ball, they ran – and ran well. L.A. outscored the Warriors 27-17 in fast-break points, and it attacked the champs in waves off the run.

But the big weakness for LeBron James and company was the 3-point shot. The Lakers went just 10-of-40 from downtown, and it was the chief reason they ended up losing, 123-109.