The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Golden State Warriors 119-109 in the NBA season opener.
Stephen Curry scored 23 points, but Jimmy Butler led the Warriors with 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Butler dominated the Lakers throughout the game, but Butler didn’t seem to have a plan to stop him.
LA fans wondered why he was allowed to continue scoring freely without any coaching adjustments from J.J. Redick.
- read more: Robert Horry removes LeBron James from Los Angeles Lakers’ all-time top five and names head coach in his place
The Lakers’ biggest problem against the Warriors was that Gabe Vincent kept being replaced by Jimmy Butler.
Vincent was often the smallest player on the court, and there was little chance he could successfully guard the six-time All-Star.
Lakers fans couldn’t understand why this was allowed to happen again and again, and took to social media to voice their concerns.
“Gabe Vincent talking about Jimmy Butler is not a wise move by any stretch of the imagination,” one person wrote.
“Imagine switching Gabe Vincent to Jimmy Butler every possession,” another added.
One fan asked, “What kind of scenario would Gabe Vincent defend Jimmy Butler over and over again and why?”
Others, however, were more critical of the Lakers’ costly mistake of not fielding a better defender than Butler.
Two posts read: “Leaving Gabe Vincent on an island against Jimmy Butler is abusive,” and “That’s why he shouldn’t be on the court at all. All he does is get abused.”
“Literally, why don’t you try someone other than Gabe Vincent for Jimmy Butler? The hot dog guy? The mop bucket guy? Someone other than Gabe,” another Lakers fan suggested.
A dissatisfied viewer also said, “It’s disrespectful to compare Gabe Vincent to Jimmy Butler.”
Well, it’s hard to deny it when Butler attacked Vincent with a too-small celebration during the match.
Chris Haynes also spoke about the Lakers’ disappointing loss to the Warriors after the game.
He expressed the same concerns as Los Angeles fans about Butler exploiting Vincent’s defensive weaknesses.
“He definitely had a favorable matchup: Gabe Vincent. (The Lakers) didn’t send a lot of doubles, which was a little weird.
“Jimmy Butler is going to be able to hit any shot he wants with his size and length,” Haynes explained.
The Lakers are going to have a hard time defending Vincent, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves all the time on the court.
Therefore, Redick will have to play Marcus Smart or Jake Laravia in place of Vincent going forward.