Players say the way to guard the Lakers is to trap and pressure as much as possible

Lakers fell 112-95 at Golden State on Friday

Wire Report IntelligenceUpdated 1h1 min read

Spoke with a couple of players postgame who acknowledged that if they were trying to guard the Lakers right now, they’d Via @DanWoikeSports on X

What happened: Players who spoke with The Athletic's Dan Woike postgame acknowledged that, if they were guarding the Lakers right now, they would trap and pressure as much as possible. Woike wrote that the Lakers looked truly disconnected for the first time this season against the Warriors' pressure defense.

Why it matters: Los Angeles dropped to 4-2 with the 112-95 loss, and Golden State moved to 3-3. Players openly describing trap-and-pressure as the way to defend the Lakers puts that approach on the table for upcoming opponents.

By the numbers: Final: Warriors 112, Lakers 95. Records after the game: Lakers 4-2, Warriors 3-3.

What to watch: Watch whether the Lakers' next opponents lean on the same trap-and-pressure approach.

Sources

@DanWoikeSports 2026-10-31T15:24:57.384982+00:00

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Players say the way to guard the Lakers is to trap and pressure as much as possible

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