JTA might not have contributed a lot to the Warriors’ run last season, but he is ready to do something big for the Lakers in the first game of the 2022-23 season.
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When the LA Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors on the opening day of the 2022-23 season, one man would be up for achieving two big things in one night.
Lakers’ new addition, Juan Toscano-Anderson, will receive his championship ring along with all the Warriors players for their amazing 2021-22 season which ended up with them lifting their 4th Larry O’Brien in the space of 8 seasons.
But for the 6’6 former Marquette forward, it’s the win for the Lakers that matters the most and he has made it abundantly clear when he got the chance by declaring he wants to kick some Warriors butts inside his former team’s home arena.
Lakers’ Juan Toscano-Anderson says the Warriors became significant just 10 years ago
Touted to be the next Draymond Green for the Warriors, following his impactful contribution in the 2020-21 season, JTA saw far lesser minutes last season with Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, and Mosses Moody seeing more game time.
His departure was imminent after the season, but his joining the Lakers not only makes it bitter for the Dub Nation but also a lot more exciting for him personally because he gets to play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and has a decent chance of getting some revenge back from his former team.
What Chase Center has in store for their former player and his new team we’ll get to know soon enough, but JTA can’t keep himself from disrespecting his former team and singing the praises of the new one.
While he does acknowledge how tough would it be to beat the Warriors at home, his statement wouldn’t go unnoticed by either his former teammates or the Dub Nation.
JTA could help the Lakers be great defensively
He might not be as high-profile a Lakers pick-up as Patrick Beverley but getting Juan Toscano-Anderson will add that dog to their defense which was missing majorly last season.
Obviously, they cannot compensate for the likes of KCP and Alex Carusos of the world but they certainly make the Lakers a much more formidable team than they were a season before.
JTA has shown his capability to guard one through four the whole 2020-21 season when the Warriors were struggling with player availability.
He might not be a terrific player when you look at the score sheet at the end of games, but his impact, much like Draymond is usually bigger than it would ever show on a piece of paper.
