Lakers News: Warriors Reporter Believes Game 3 Loss Sign Of Playoff Vulnerability

LA leads the champs 2-1 in its playoff series.

Your Los Angeles Lakers are set to face off against the Golden State Warriors today in the fourth contest of their ongoing best-of-seven playoff series.

In reflecting on their last meeting Saturday, it appears that one Warriors beat reporter believes that Golden State's 127-97 Game 3 loss to LA is symptomatic of the team's bigger issues.

Tim Kawakami of The Athletic writes that the 2022-23 vintage of the Warriors is significantly more beatable than previous title-winning clubs. There is no Kevin Durant available to help alleviate some of the defensive pressure on Stephen Curry, and 39-year-old Andre Iguodala is far beyond his peak 2015 NBA Finals MVP self. The team's 11-30 road record during the regular season seems to continue to haunt them in the postseason, as well.

Kawakami also cites the Warriors' shot profile as an issue. Los Angeles was able to bully its way to the foul line to the tune of a +20 margin over Golden State, and while Kawakami claims that attendant officials may have been a bit generous towards the home team, he also notes that the Warriors do take far more outside shots than LA, and thus are far less likely to get favorable whistles.

Though Kawakami is convinced Golden State remains capable of submitting terrific playoff performances, he notes that the Warriors have struggled to string together consistent excellence in these playoffs so far.

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