Warriors Look To Heat Up LA Rivalry

There is always a buzz around Oracle Arena when Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers come into town. On a rainy Saturday night in Northern California, that buzz is a little bigger than usual. The Warriors are heading Saturday night’s hyped matchup with an 18-9 record, finding themselves looking down on the 12-14 Lakers in the standings this late in the season for the first time in recent years. Mark Jackson’s Warriors squad will look to continue playing solid ball against a Lakers team that has won 3 straight and has Steve Nash returning for the first time since Halloween. 2 time MVP Steve Nash will be in the starting lineup along side Pau Gasol, who recently missed 8 games himself. A healthy Lakers team with coach Mike D’Antoni at the helm is something that LA has not seen yet this season and they are looking to right the ship. The Warriors and their rookie big man Festus Ezeli will have their hands full in the paint tonight trying to defend the self proclaimed “Superman” Dwight Howard. I’d expect the Warriors to take their chances on Howard’s poor free throw shooting and foul him hard all night long. David Lee collected a Triple-Double in last night’s contest vs Charlotte. Los Angeles will also have their hands full with the Warriors pick and roll duo of Steph Curry and David Lee. The faces of the Warriors franchise are off to career best starts and have lead the Warriors to their best start in years. Second year man Klay Thompson has really stepped up his game as of late, especially from beyond the three point line, and Golden State is getting more help than they expected from their rookie class. The Warriors are a much deeper team than the the Lakers, they can run multiple offensive looks and feature a handful of different go-to offensive weapons. The Lakers are one of the worst defending teams in the league and the addition of Steve Nash is not going to help. The Warriors are unselfish, defend, rebound, and will out hustle their opponents as they have shown in early big wins over the Clippers and the defending champion Heat. The NBA’s leading scorer Kobe Bryant will try to take charge as he has done in the past against the Warriors. Los Angeles has won 17 of the last 18 games vs Golden State and will look to extend that number tonight. But there is a new found confidence within this Warriors team, and with the recent success of the San Francisco Giants and 49ers and the Oakland Athletics, the Warriors crowds have been waiting patiently to erupt as well. There is a positive energy surrounding the Warriors, even without their star big man Andrew Bogut and swingman Brandon Rush. Warriors fans finally have the pleasure of seeing a healthy Steph Curry and a surrounding cast that isn’t made up of D-Leaguers and washed up veterans with expiring contracts (except Richard Jefferson). In a tight Western Conference, they currently find themselves in the 5 seed among the league’s best with no team within 5 wins behind them. It should be a fun night and an early Christmas treat. This game means a lot to both teams and there is a lot of buzz around it, especially with the return of Steve Nash. All eyes will be Oracle Arena on Saturday night. - Rich Peters The post Warriors Look To Heat Up LA Rivalry appeared first on Bay Area Sports Nut.