Lakers-Warriors matchup: Five things to watch

Some things to keep an eye on when the Lakers (30-19) visit the Golden State Warriors (20-27) Tuesday night at 7:30 at Oracle Arena.

1. Kobe Bryant. He showed true leadership by biting his lip regarding Mike Brown sitting him for four of the last six minutes in the Lakers’ loss Sunday to Memphis. As indicated by Brown’s comments to reporters after the morning shootaround, he hasn’t backtracked on the decision or added much clarity to it. So it’ll be interesting to see how Bryant plays in his first game since then.

As his comments afterward showed, Bryant isn’t going to let this soil the locker room. Competitive as he is, Bryant’s also smart. But another layer involves his on-court play. His 18 points on seven-of-15 shooting and poor defense were hardly the biggest issues plaguing the team. Yet, it will be interesting to see how much he changes his game, if at all.

Either way, Bryant could be primed for a big performance. He’s 24 points shy of Michael Jordan for second on the NBA franchise career points list. Klay Thompson, son of former Laker Mychal Thompson, will likely match up with him, and the Black Mamba would likely want to stop him from reeling off his 14th consecutive double-digit performance.

2. Will the Lakers’ defense improve? The Lakers have hardly resembled the grind-it-out defensive team Mike Brown molded them into at the beginning of the season. In the last 10 games, the Lakers have faced declines compared with their regular-season averages in points allowed (93.41, 100.1), field-goal percentage (42.7%, 46.2%) and rebounds (45.4, 44.2). Fortunately for the Lakers, their matchup with Golden State might help rectify those numbers. That’s because the Warriors have only topped 100 points only six times in the last 16 games. Center Andrew Bogut (fractured left ankle) and point guard Stephen Curry (sprained right ankle) also remain sidelined.

3. The Lakers have a huge frontline advantage. After seeing the Lakers concede 52 points in the paint to Memphis, Warriors forward David Lee might feel eager for a big night. He’s the only one, though. Andris Biedrins is out, the Warriors traded Ekpe Udoh to Milwaukee. Oh yeah, Kwame Brown is gone too, not that that is a bad thing. So there’s no reason the Lakers can’t have both a field day inside and on the boards. Andrew Bynum has taken care of the scoring, averaging 23.9 points per game in the last 10. But he’s failed to grab double-digit rebounds in the past four contests. That will change Tuesday.

4. The Warriors’ backcourt looks different without Ellis and Curry. Ever since shipping Ellis off to Milwaukee, the Warriors’ backcourt has changed. Curry can’t fill that void since he’s hurt. Nate Robinson’s numbers as a starter looks solid (13.9 points on 45.3% shooting). But he’s known for his errtatic shot selection and inconsistency. Charles Jenkins just netted a career-high 27-point performance Sunday against Portland while Robinson remained sidelined. Though he can play through mistakes, Jenkins lacks experience. Meanwhile, Thompson has moved into Ellis’ shooting guard spot and has averaged 18.7 points on 42.3% shooting in the last 13 games.

5. Will the Lakers fine-tune some of their offensive issues? The Warriors lack disipline on defense.They concede 99.8 points per night, fifth highest in the NBA, despite faring in the middle of the league in pace and field goal percentage. They make up for that by granting opponents around 27 trips to the foul line per game, third highest in the league. This shows the Lakers need to attack the basket more, everyone ranging from Bryant, Ramon Sessions, Bynum and Pau Gasol. But it will also give the Lakers more wiggle room to correct some of their bad offense. That includes Gasol’s recently poor shooting stretch, Steve Blake’s incredible tentativeness and the chemistry between Bryant and Sessions. Better to show some improvement in this area than hope it’ll all come together Thursday against Oklahoma City.

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