It took Yaxel Lendeborg one NBA game to decide he’d had enough of Luka Dončić.

After the Lakers beat Golden State on opening night, the Warriors rookie said he’d “lost all respect” for Luka because of his complaining:

Being in it firsthand and seeing all the whining and complaining, I lost all respect. That was awful. Like me getting frustrated, it's not about the foul being called, it's about him complaining the entire game. And then you get the foul call – congratulations. Then you talk to me like you did something great. C'mon, dog. That s*** is weak. It kind of threw me off because I have so much respect for him. Gone, man. Gone.

So much for easing into the relationship.

Now they’re getting another crack at each other with Stephen Curry feeling it and an NBA Cup game on the line. That should make things interesting.

The Lakers visit Chase Center on Friday at 10 p.m. ET on Prime Video. The Lakers are 4–1, but Golden State's 2–3 after back-to-back road wins.

Four Games Doesn’t Leave Much Room

West Group C has the Lakers, Warriors, Spurs, Trail Blazers, and Kings. Each team plays four group games. The group winner moves on, and the West’s best second-place team gets the conference’s only wild card.

Friday’s loser won’t be out of it, but they’ll have three games left to clean up the mess. Head-to-head is the first tiebreaker within the group, followed by point differential. So winning this one could help twice.

And no, the Lakers’ opening-night win doesn’t count here. You don’t get to bring a 22-point head start into a completely separate competition.

With the defending Western Conference champion Spurs in the group, neither of these teams want to make their paths any tougher.

Golden State Has an Actual Basketball Problem to Fix

The loudest part of the first meeting was Luka and Lendeborg. The most useful part for understanding Friday was Walker Kessler making every shot he took.

Kessler finished with 26 points on 12-for-12 shooting. The Lakers scored 66 points in the paint and won 127–105. Dončić had 28 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Austin Reaves added 23. With LeBron in Philadelphia now, these first few games have given us a pretty clear look at what the Lakers want this version of the team to be.

Luka draws the attention, Kessler gives him somebody to throw the ball over everybody’s head to, and Reaves attacks whatever opening is left. The first possession was literally a Luka lob to Kessler. They weren’t exactly trying to keep the plan a secret.

Golden State has to make that connection work for everything. Pressuring Luka doesn’t do much if his escape route ends with another dunk. Keeping an extra defender near Kessler, though, creates chances somewhere else. Reaves is averaging 24.4 points, so treating him like an afterthought would be a pretty foolish idea.

There’s one big condition attached to all of this: Luka has to play. He missed Wednesday’s game against the Clippers with back tightness, and Ziaire Williams sat with left foot soreness. When he was asked if they’d be playing Friday, JJ Redick said:

That’s the hope.

Hope and having a superstar like Luka out there aren’t the same thing. The Lakers still beat the Clippers 103–87, getting 23 points from Quentin Grimes and 21 from Collin Sexton. That’s useful, no question. It doesn’t make replacing Luka’s 36 points a reasonable expectation.

Curry Doesn’t Need Much Help Making This Uncomfortable

Golden State's given us plenty of reasons to expect a better game this time around.

Curry scored 44 in Wednesday’s 119–114 win over Minnesota, making all 16 of his free throws. Lendeborg added 26 after scoring 31 in Monday’s win against Denver. The rookie’s comments got attention, but his production is becoming the real reason to pay attention.

There’s still a learning curve, though. Lendeborg committed seven turnovers against Minnesota. Against a Lakers team with multiple guards who can turn one mistake into a quick bucket, those possessions matter.

The Warriors are also still short-handed without Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody, and Kristaps Porziņģis. Curry can make that roster look a lot less limited for stretches. Asking him to solve everything for 48 minutes is a different story.

The Lakers’ challenge is making him work without losing track of everyone else. Chase him around a screen, bring help, recover, then do it all over again. One good contest doesn’t mean you get to relax.

Somebody Has to Get the Rebound

Through five games, Golden State's averaging 15.6 offensive rebounds. L.A.'s giving up 13. It's still early, but that's enough to make finishing possessions one of the biggest things to watch Friday.

If Kessler steps away from the basket to help on Curry, somebody else has to find a body and box out. Otherwise, Golden State gets another crack at it. With all the shooting they have on the floor, giving the Warriors extra chances is a quick way to lose.

Golden State has some late-game questions of their own. The Warriors led Memphis by 12 with 3:47 left last Friday, then lost 111–108 without getting another bucket. Having Curry on the floor helps, obviously, but it doesn’t magically make the last four minutes take care of themselves.

So who wins this one?

I’m taking the Lakers if Luka's back and looks like himself. Reaves gives them another dependable creator, and Kessler’s finishing already exposed a real problem for Golden State.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com.

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