When Anthony Davis and LeBron James play effectively in the paint, the L.A. Lakers can be very good--and game three of their second round series versus the Golden State Warriors dramatically illustrated that: Davis and James dominated inside, and the Lakers won easily, 127-97. Davis led both teams in scoring (25 points), rebounds (13), and blocked shots (four). He had a tremendous impact at both ends of the court, but particularly on defense: he proved that he can both disrupt screen/roll actions on the perimeter and drop into the paint to contest shots and grab rebounds. The Lakers held the Warriors to .396 field goal shooting while forcing 19 turnovers. There is not a boxscore number that connects those team numbers to Davis' play, but he had more to do with the Lakers' dominant defense than any other player.
James finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and no turnovers. He played with more energy on defense than he has in a long time. Before the game, ABC's Jeff Van Gundy declared, "LeBron James has to have a throwback game where he lives in the paint and in the post." During the game, Van Gundy added that the Lakers cannot win this series if James only plays hard sporadically. James did not attempt a shot in the first quarter for the first time in his playoff career, an odd look for the NBA's all-time scoring leader in both the regular season and the playoffs. ABC's Mark Jackson labeled James' passivity "inexcusable," emphasizing that James is not being guarded by a lockdown defender and that the Lakers' game plan does not involve James refusing to shoot.
After the first quarter, James played the way that the Lakers need for him to play and that--combined with Davis controlling the paint at both ends of the court--lifted the Lakers to a convincing win.
In the first quarter, D'Angelo Russell scored 13 points on 5-7 field goal shooting (including 3-4 from three point range)--and he had a -6 plus/minus number as the Warriors enjoyed a 30-23 lead after the first 12 minutes. Russell scored eight points the rest of the game, and the Lakers won going away. There could not be a more vivid example of what factors make the Lakers good, and what factors are not only irrelevant but potentially even counterproductive. I am not suggesting that Russell played poorly. Obviously, he played well. I am pointing out that both the eye test and the statistical evidence show that Russell hitting three pointers does not have a cause/effect relationship with the Lakers winning. The Lakers took command of the game when Davis and James took command of the paint; after Davis and James asserted themselves, the Lakers transformed an 11 point second quarter deficit into a 59-48 halftime lead.
Not only did the Lakers play very well in game three, but the Warriors displayed the worst version of themselves: they had careless turnovers, they missed defensive assignments, they committed silly fouls, and they were whistled for three technical fouls plus one flagrant foul at times when the outcome was still in doubt. Van Gundy noted that even experienced teams can struggle with maintaining the focus that is necessary to win two consecutive games in a playoff series, particularly because of psychological factors that he asserts favor a team that just lost in a blowout; if he is correct about the latter observation and if that pattern holds true in game four then it bodes well for the Warriors.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 23 points, but he shot just 9-21 from the field and he only had three assists after dishing for 12 assists in game two. Andrew Wiggins added 16 points, a team-high nine rebounds, and four assists. Klay Thompson scored 15 points on 5-14 field goal shooting. Draymond Green, who raves about his high basketball IQ, had more fouls (five) than points (two) and rebounds (two) combined, and he had the same number of field goals made and technical fouls (one each). He may want to focus more of his attention on the task at hand and less of his attention on making videos mocking Dillon Brooks. We understand that Brooks is a knucklehead without Green telling us; Green's primary job is playing for the Warriors, not being a social media influencer, and he should remember that.
This was an impressive win for the Lakers, and it sets up a crucial game four for both teams: the Lakers need to win to maintain the homecourt advantage that they obtained by winning game one at Golden State, while the Warriors need to win to avoid falling into a daunting 3-1 hole. It is fair to say that the game four winner will also win the series: the Lakers have been inconsistent all season, but they are unlikely to blow a 3-1 lead, and the Warriors are unlikely to lose another home game if they wrest back homecourt advantage.