The Lakers’ season-opening win over the Warriors to kick off the franchise’s Luka Doncic era went about as well as could’ve been expected.
Doncic, in addition to Walker Kessler and Austin Reaves, dominated the team’s in-state rival, with the Lakers’ “Big 3” combining for 77 points, 21 rebounds, 14 assists, five steals and three blocked shots.
The “nasty” defense Kessler spoke about showed up in the middle two quarters, with the Warriors combining for just 35 points in the second and third periods after the Lakers allowed 33 points in the first.
The biggest hiccup for the Lakers during a night that didn’t feature many of them: A scary injury moment involving a key player on the roster.
Midway through the fourth, with the Lakers up by 33 points, Jake LaRavia attempted to drive into the paint with LJ Cryer guarding him.
Cryer impeded the drive, with the 2022 first-round draft pick awkwardly twisting his right ankle/lower leg before hobbling and falling to the floor.
LaRavia laid on the court and writhed in pain before team trainers helped him back to the bench.
He was able to put weight on the leg before going back to the locker room after subbing out of the game.
While coach JJ Redick didn’t have an update on LaRavia immediately after the game, he was encouraged about his status compared to how it felt in the immediate aftermath of the injury.
“I’m probably more positive than when it first happened,” Redick said. “But again. he’ll be evaluated. And the next time I talk to you guys, we’ll have an update.”
LaRavia was having a strong game before going down with the injury, scoring 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting off of the bench.
“I saw him being himself,” Redick said. “Again when he is shooting with confidence and making catch-and-shoot 3s, that’s an added bonus. We have a group of guys that do a lot of things to impact winning that don’t necessarily show up in the box score, certainly won’t show up in a highlight reel on Instagram. He’s a winning player.”
