LOS ANGELES – A half dozen future members of the Basketball Hall of Fame were in Crypto Arena on Sunday night. Unfortunately for the paying public, most of them were inactive in the Warriors’ 126-116 loss to the host Lakers.
On the Warriors bench, Steph Curry and Al Horford were in street clothes, and Jimmy Butler was not even in the building, as he missed the game for personal reasons.
The Lakers were down LeBron James, afflicted by nerve pain. Luka Doncic was still not game-ready, and former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart was ruled out a few hours before tipoff.
The results were … predictably ugly for the Warriors.
Starting Brandin Podziemski at point guard, Jonathan Kuminga next to Draymond Green at forward, and flanked by Quinten Post and Buddy Hield as shooters, the rag