Getty Malik Beasley of the Los Angeles Lakers.
After an ugly start to the season, the Los Angeles Lakers made some serious changes at the trade deadline. By ditching Russell Westbrook and adding multiple depth pieces, the Lakers showed a serious desire to improve their playoff hopes moving forward.
These changes were in full display on Thursday night when the Lakers took down the short-handed Golden State Warriors. Malik Beasley popped off, scoring a game-high 25 points, and after the game, he spoke about just how deep this Lakers squad is.
“We’re deep as a team,” Beasley said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “We got starters coming off the bench. Just the fact that D-Lo [D’Angelo Russell] didn’t even finish the game, like, we got so many threats. And like you said, AD [Anthony Davis] and LeBron [James] didn’t get going as much as they wanted to tonight, but we’re deep, and I think that’s the statement we want to make. If it’s not one player, it’s going to be another player. Any given night.”
Russell, who has played well since joining the Lakers, wasn’t in the closing group against Golden State. In fact, he barely played, logging less than nine minutes. The ankle injury he suffered played a part, but LA’s great depth also made it so they didn’t need him to return on an injured ankle.
Beasley put on a great showing against the Warriors, especially considering how much his teammates struggled. In addition to his 25 points, he ended the night with three rebounds, an assist, and three steals. He shot 9-of-16 from the floor and 7-of-11 from behind the three-point line.
Both Davis and James never got going against the Warriors, making Beasley’s performance all the more important. James put up just 13 points on 5-of-20 shooting overall and 1-of-6 shooting from deep, but he also added nine boards and eight assists. Meanwhile, Davis only took five shots, shooting 3-of-5 and posting 12 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks.
D’Angelo Russell Discusses Ankle Injury
The injury to Russell’s ankle came when he was stepping backward to inbound the ball. He stepped on Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo’s ankle and would miss the remainder of the game. After the contest, however, Russell seemed to be in good spirits when providing an update on his injury.
“Wrong place, wrong time definitely,” Russell said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “Pretty unlucky for me. Players roll their ankles all the time. I don’t do that often, so it’s obviously new. It is what it is. Not really worried.”
Anthony Davis Sounds Off After Lakers Win
Davis was also in good spirits after the Lakers’ win, as he felt relieved to finally be playing winning basketball again. He said that it’s easy to enjoy the game when the team is winning.
“I think we just know where we are. We don’t have time to be upset or fight ourselves within. We just have to go out and win basketball. All we want to do is go out and have fun,” Davis said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “Us having fun is playing the right way, playing defense, making the right plays offensively. It leads to victories. When you’re winning basketball games, you know, it’s always fun, and you can enjoy it.”
