Entering Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, the Golden State Warriors look to be behind the eight ball in their quest to repeat as NBA champions. After a fourth-quarter comeback bid came up just short during Game 1, the Dubs are officially in an 0-1 hole.
Not only that — they’ve ceded home-court advantage to LeBron James and Co. in the best-of-seven playoff bout.
One could point to a myriad of developments from the contest as reasons to believe the Warriors will encounter further trouble in their bid for advancement, too. The paint dominance of Anthony Davis, a top-to-bottom size deficiency and Jordan Poole’s occasionally questionable decision-making all rate highly here.
For his part, though, retired three-time All-Star and Bay Area fave Gilbert Arenas is zeroing in on an overall lack of depth as the key factor in the Warriors’ Game 1 loss and what he’s predicting to be a losing effort in the series at large.
Gilbert Arenas Believes That the Lakers Have Better Depth Than the Warriors & Will Win Series in Less Than Seven Games
“I have Lakers in five or six.”
Gilbert Arenas joined @ryenarussillo to talk Lakers vs. Warriors and explained why he’s got L.A. winning the series.
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During an appearance on the May 4 episode of the Ryen Russillo Podcast, Arenas left little doubt that he’s picking the Lake Show to roll on past the Warriors and straight into the conference finals. His reasoning: LeBron has better horses behind him than Stephen Curry.
“I broke it down back to LeBron in his Cleveland days. I feel he has a better cast than he did when he was facing them [during previous Finals runs]. If you take out Kyrie [Irving], who’s just a difference-maker — when you think about the rest of the lineup… the role players for the Lakers, they’re better than what he was working with in Cleveland.”
Moreover, Arenas believes that Steph’s supporting cast has actually gotten worse compared to what he had when the Warriors and Cavs were duking it out across multiple NBA Finals.
“Golden State is not the same team. Yeah, they have the same three players, but they’re not the same three players they used to be. The only player that’s really better than he was then is Steph. With Anthony Davis, [Austin] Reaves and all these role players… they’re better than the Cavs teams that Golden State was going against.”
With all that being the case, Agent Zero would be surprised to see the Dubs extend the series.
“I have Lakers in five [or] six [games]. I just don’t think Golden State is that equipped these days… I don’t think Golden State has the bench they used to have…”
Warriors Urged to ‘Unleash’ Jonathan Kuminga
One Warriors player who has been conspicuous by his absence during postseason play is second-year forward and former lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga.
After locking down a rotational spot during the regular season and averaging 9.9 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 52.5% from the field and 37.0% from three as a result, Kuminga has logged a grand total of 36 minutes through eight playoff games. For his part, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey believes that needs to change.
Especially after Davis was allowed to go for 30 points, 23 rebounds and five assists during Game 1.
Wrote Bailey:
When Golden State didn’t re-sign [Gary Payton II] (who’d later return in a trade), Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica in the offseason, the idea was that the young reserves had had enough seasoning behind those vets. They’d be able to pick up the slack.
And while that felt like a miscalculation for much of the season (Golden State was 11-30 on the road and minus-8.0 points per 100 possessions when Curry and Green were both off the floor), there may still be some evidence to present.
Kuminga may not be able to offset L.A.’s size and physicality entirely, but he at least deserves the chance to try, especially if the alternative is another bludgeoning inside.
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Former Warriors Star Gilbert Arenas Makes Surprising Prediction on Lakers Series