SAN FRANCISCO — In the first showcase of the Lakers’ trade deadline haul, their best player was someone who has been around.
Not LeBron James, who was on the bench for the second straight game with a foot injury. Not Anthony Davis, who was offensively out of rhythm.
Dennis Schröder, the pint-sized guard who has stood out time and again in short-handed games, led the way with 26 points in a 109-103 Lakers victory over the Golden State Warriors, snapping a three-game losing streak and giving the franchise some life in the debut of a few new players.
D’Angelo Russell had 15 points, six assists and five rebounds, Jarred Vanderbilt had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Malik Beasley had four points in their first games as Lakers (or in Russell’s case, his first game in his L.A. comeback).
For a relatively new group, the Lakers had some surprising cohesion coming down the stretch. Russell knocked down back-to-back shots in the midrange, then Rui Hachimura – with only a few weeks of a headstart on his new teammates – hit a 3-pointer. Davis got a critical blocked shot in the closing minutes, turning into a Hachimura jumper on the other end.
But no one was more brilliant down the stretch (once again) than Schröder, who sealed the win at the free-throw line in a 7-for-12 shooting performance from the field and a 9-for-11 night at the foul line. His continued presence in the starting lineup is a reflection of his relationship with Coach Darvin Ham, who trusts him implicitly from their time together in Atlanta.
All the newcomers were working with was a courtside seat to Thursday’s game against Milwaukee, a brief Friday practice before a flight to the Bay Area, and a working session at the University of San Francisco with the coaching staff. Ham said he tried to get them acclimated to their offensive and defensive schemes, but he also acknowledged that he would rely heavily on pick-and-roll actions, especially for Russell, the only newcomer inserted into the…
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