Yaxel Lendeborg started his first NBA game, spent it guarding Luka Dončić, and afterward told reporters that he “lost all respect” for the Lakers star because of the way he begs for foul calls. The Warriors lost 127-105, so the obvious question is whether the rookie’s mouth cost them.
The evidence says no. What cost them was what happened while he was talking: the fouls.
Lendeborg Won the Matchup He Was Given
On the defensive assignment itself, Lendeborg did his job. With Lendeborg as his primary defender, Dončić shot 1-for-6, and went 6-for-12 against everyone else, Danny Emerman of The San Francisco Standard reported.
His trash talk was also more accurate than it sounded. “His only bucket on me was a banker from half court,” he said, and that fits the tracking numbers.
The blowout happened somewhere else. Walker Kessler was a perfect 12-for-12 from the field with nine rebounds and two blocks while Draymond Green and Al Horford tried to guard him.
Golden State was also missing Jimmy Butler (knee) and Moses Moody (knee), as well as Brandin Podziemski (back) and Kristaps Porziņģis. A 22-point loss with that many players out and Kessler unstoppable inside was not decided by a rookie’s postgame comments.
The Warriors’ veterans aren’t treating it as a problem either. Steve Kerr put him back into the game to guard Dončić right after the first dustup. Green’s response to the idea that the rookie learned a lesson was “What he learn?” Kerr also argued that three of the fouls Lendeborg was called for probably wouldn’t be fouls in “any other league in the world.”
Dončić Pulled Him Into Fouling
The case against Lendeborg is narrower than “he poked the bear,” and it holds up better. Lendeborg committed four personal fouls in the game, three of which sent Dončić to the line.
The game turned during the stretch when he lost his composure. After Will Richard’s dunk got the Warriors within a point at 49-48, the Lakers closed the quarter with a 17-4 run that featured two personal fouls and a technical from the rookie, and ended with Dončić’s half-court buzzer-beater.
Kerr defended his rookie, but he also explained what went wrong. “He kind of lured him in a little bit,” he said of Dončić, and he called it a lesson Lendeborg has to learn, since this is the NBA.
Dončić, for his part, did not take the bait. “So it was the first time that was not a double tech, because I didn’t say nothing,” he said. In that exchange the rookie got rattled and the veteran stayed calm.
Keep the Edge and Cut the Fouls
The postgame quote was harmless. Rookies talk, Dončić’s complaining to officials is an old storyline, and the line will be forgotten within a week.
The fouls are worth worrying about, because Lendeborg’s value to this roster depends on his staying on the floor against stars. Kerr has already shown he trusts him: Lendeborg became the first Warriors rookie to start on opening night since James Wiseman in 2020, and the No. 11 pick played 29 minutes, more than any other Warrior.
With Butler and Moody out, the Warriors need him on the court, not in foul trouble.
SES’s verdict is that the Warriors should want him to keep the edge, and that the cost on Wednesday was the foul count, not the trash talk. This is one game, and one game can’t tell you whether he has a discipline problem.
The next test comes soon: the Lakers and Warriors face next on Oct. 30. If Lendeborg talks just as much and stays at two fouls or fewer, Green is right. If Dončić pulls him into another technical and another run of free throws, Kerr’s warning was the one that mattered, and the talk becomes a real problem for Golden State.
Source: ESPN
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