Official debut! Scored 10 points on 7 shots! Another brilliant trade by the Lakers

In a trending conversation, the Lakers won 105-99 against the Warriors at home.

Lakers stats are as follows:

Warriors stats are as follows:

Kennedy, obtained by trading Vincent plus a second-round pick, made his Lakers career debut in this game,coming off the bench for about 26 minutes, shooting 4 of 7, including 2 of 4 from beyond the arc, contributing 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal, with a plus-minus of +4.

Who said any shooter can't score after joining the Lakers?

Up to now, the Lakers rank 23rd in the league in both average three-point attempts per game (33.8) and three-pointers made (11.8), with a 35% three-point shooting percentage ranking 21st in the league. Their shooting ability is just below average, which is why they brought in Kennedy. This season, he averages 8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game, shooting an impressive 49.7%—the highest in the league—while making 1.6 three-pointers per game.

Moreover, data shows Kennedy’s defense isn’t as poor as people think; his defensive efficiency this season ranks 87th in the league at 111.2.

In summary, this guy is exactly the player the Lakers need, and his debut met expectations, even exceeding value.

Anyway, just know Kennedy is more useful than Vincent, who played 112 regular-season games for the purple and gold, averaging 5.6 points, 1.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.1 blocks, with shooting percentages of 38.1%, 34.1%, and 76.5% respectively.

The Lakers currently hold a 32-19 record, sitting fifth in the Western Conference, tied with the fourth-place Rockets, two games ahead of the seventh-place Suns, and one game behind the third-place Nuggets.The gap to break into the top three or fall out of playoff contention is very narrow, so every remaining game in the schedule must be treasured.

However, looking at the Lakers’ remaining February games, I really feel for them; their opponents are the Thunder, Spurs, Mavericks, Clippers, Celtics, Magic, and Suns—mostly strong teams with no easy wins...

The good news is the latest checkup shows Doncic only has a minor hamstring strain, nothing serious, currently under daily observation, and should be able to return to action soon.