5 THINGS

And so with less fanfare than it began, the preseason has concluded. With a loss to the Phoenix Suns the lakers finished the preseason with a 2-4 record. This should concern nobody because there were times when this team flashed some dominant potential. The main goal, which is always get everyone through preseason healthy, may have come up a little bit short but our key guys look good and are healthy so all in and all an unqualified success. Let’s dig in.

1. Anthony Davis looks to be in regular season form. I’m curious to see how a more regular role (by that I mean playing in the 4th quarter) impacts his on-court play but there’s no denying AD is entering the season already in beast mode. The defense is on point, he’s the focal point of the offense, and he’s doing it as smoothly as I’ve seen him play in a long time. Whether this is a result of knowing he’s the first option and not semi-deferring or a byproduct of an off season change I don’t much care. If this version of AD can play at this level for 30+ mpg he’ll be in all the conversations: MVP, DPOY, Most Improved (ok maybe not that one). We’ll also have a decent record and if few other players hit (other than LeBron) we’ll slide right into the playoffs at 4 or 5, maybe higher if some other teams stumble out of the gate. AD is the way now, all hail AD.
2. LeBron James is moving fluidly. Honestly the only thing I’ve been really watching during preseason other than how some of the new guys play in the mix is how LeBron moves. He looks good and so whatever Mad Scientist he took his foot to has some good vibes coming his way from all of Laker nation. While not blowing me away with his explosiveness he generally doesn’t until well into November, early December as he works his body into game-shape. At 39 I’m willing to give him all the way until March as I’d rather he ease his way along rather than go down and have to rehab, or worse get surgery. While it does feel like a little less hinges on LeBron’s impact this season there’s no denying his impact come playoff time.
3. The Holdovers. I’m talking Reaves, Hachimura, Vanderbilt and Russell. Mixed results, in my opinion. That’s to be expected in talent that resides squarely in the “above-average” tier of the NBA. Consistency is the hallmark of super stardom, none of these guys are knocking on that door with really only Russell and Reaves even having the potential to do so (mostly Russell). Still, when Reaves has played he’s looked exactly like where he left off and still not playing all that much point. Still mostly functioning off-ball to start possessions. Hachimura looks more like regular season Rui and not playoff knight of death Rui and, while unfortunate, not surprising. Some guys can’t manufacture the other gear without the situation demanding it of them. I’m not worried about him though, he’s got his new deal, we know he can rise to the occasion and so if his midseason play isn’t all we hoped for the team has the depth to mitigate that. Vando looked great in his first game and has been sidelined by a heel injury ever since. Same goes here, no need to rush back as that’s what the depth we accumulated this offseason is for. Russell is the only one I expected a little more out of and the returns have also been mixed. There is a point in which the hype hits the ceiling and D-Lo may have reached that point. I understand deferring to AD but he really needs to force himself into the third option role on this team for us to have lasting success.
4. The New Guys. That would be Prince, Vincent, Wood and Hayes. I would say “pretty much as advertised” to a man. Prince has slowed down his foul-a-minute defense and that’s enabled him to fill in for Vando but the argument that his shooting brings more to the table than Vando’s defense isn’t a strong one. I don’t see Prince as commanding a defender to stay on him like other sharp-shooters, he’s just a solid release valve and that’s fine. Vincent, cut from the same cloth as Schroder before him, is a solid backup. Won’t ‘wow’ you on any given night but does his job as well as can be expected. Wood and Hayes will battle for a role and it will basically come down to defense. I had hoped to see one of them run away with the chance to be the starting center but they both measure up to specialist back up center. hayes as the better rim runner, Woods as the better shooter, but neither of them did enough for me to advocate starting them over wither Prince or Vando. Honestly, since the start of camp I’ve though the last starting spot was Vando’s to lose and nothing the other guys did while he was out changed my mind. I didn’t list Reddish here because the dude is clearly a major project with time running out for him to figure it out if he wants to earn a paycheck larger than the vet minimum in any given season.
5. Has Ham really changed up his coaching? A little. The five out sets are there, at least to start possessions, but we generally resort back to the comfort zones of AD and LBJ which is ball in hand face up/back to the basket/make a move. The defense looks a little tighter out of the gate than last season, thanks largely to D-Lo’s improved focus and AD coming into camp with something to prove, and I expect that to get even better after a couple of weeks of settling into some rotations. So, while it’s hard for to endorse the idea that Coach ham has changed a lot of his integral philosophies, I can say he’s refined his approach to using them with the players on the roster. I’d still like to see us utilize plays that get specialist players their pet shots, that goes for guys like Wood and Prince. It drives me a little bonkers when we just stash those guys in the corner and hope they make a shot. In the same vein I’d like to see Wood and Hayes involved in more P&R near the top of the key with D-LO, Reaves and Vincent. Letting the defense dictate the action won’t cut it when the player with the ball isn’t LeBron or AD, not everyone can just “take what the defense gives them” and one of the hallmarks of a great coach is making mid-tier players better by using actions that benefit their skill set. Again, some of this might be preseason issues and things will get more intricate as the season wears on, but I’d like to see some synergy starting to develop akin to what we’ve seen evolve in places like Miami and Golden State.

All in all, color me pleased. Sure Max Christie could have silenced his doubters and seized the backup 2 guard role (he didn’t), of course Vando could have probably played last night and given us one more preseaon glimpse of what that line up could look like (does it really matter in preseason??? no) but LeBron and AD got through it all healthy, Reaves was eased into everything after his long summer, and everyone who was here last season looks reasonably ready to pick up where they left off. While there may still be some growing pains I’m pretty stoked about the potential of this season and looking forward to opening night against the champs.

Go Lakers.

And so it begins…again. We have a new (but mostly the same) team! As summer turns to fall and the leaves, well, don’t do much of anything around here that is the time when folks round LA know that hoops is-a-comin! In what can only be described as about face for the current Laker front office, the Lakers prioritized continuity and chemistry over replacing role players with bigger names. A change this fan has been advocating for for awhile. Today we’ll be looking at the 5 Things I think will make the biggest impact on the upcoming season.

1. The health of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. As always this issue takes center stage. Honestly, everything else after this could be considered filler but we’ll keep it to point #1, anyhow. AD has been saying the same things he says every training camp. Feels good, worked out all summer, body is in a good place, etc. LeBron James was far more coy about what he did this summer (other than deal with Bronny James’ unfortunate heart attack scare). Did he get surgery? Consult a shaman? Get a bionic foot? Mum’s the word from Camp James and thus fans amedia heads are with naught but speculation and theory. While not surprising it is a little disappointing given how much of the team success rides on his shoulders. Still, I respect LeBron wanting to keep details of things private. He’s got more than enough limelight. In the case of AD my hope is that a combination of playing a little less at the 5, having more versatile depth around him in the form of Hayes and Wood, and a small dose of better luck when it comes to contact-induced injuries will be the remedy. AD ain’t all that old, but he seems to go down like a fighter on the take every time someone brushes him. We need him on the floor, competing in 65+ games for all those cool awards he says he aspires to if we want to avoid the same scenario we’ve encountered in season’s past: poor regular season record meaning we need to go through the playin (or miss the playoffs altogether). So, to all of that, I don’t much give a fig how much LeBron or AD plays in preseason. If they play enough for the coaches to evaluate what they need to to get the season rolling, that’s good by me.
2. The elusive 5th starter. Ham has been coy and rolled regarding who the 5th starter could/will be. If he is to be taken at face value he already knows but is keeping it a secret! I think they’re actually going to use the preseason to get a better grip on how they want the team to play off the jump and how they hope they can finish before the final horn sounds. My guess is that it’s Jarred Vanderbilt’s gig to lose. He wa such an integral part of the stretch that got us into the playin and, up until midway through the series with Golden State, looked like the perfect compliment to James and Davis in the front court. The playoffs, like they do for many players (especially younger ones like Vando who is only 24!), reveal weaknesses in the overall game. That’s not a knock, that’s what cranking up the level and intensity of competition does. Jarred’s proved to be scoring under pressure when open both inside and out. Split second hesitations under the rim can be doom in the playoffs, just ask Ben Simmons, and missing wide open threes can be a reputation killer. Just ask ben Simmons. Vando was often tasked with guarding top scorers, often guards, and making their life Hell while continuing to bring the energy and impact he had on offense. That proved to be a task beyond him last May in the western conference finals. I was happy to see JV taking and making open three point shots in the first preseason game, this was a good start to what is basically a security season for Vanderbilt. He can’t be traded for 6 months from when he signed his extension which falls after the trading deadline. So he has, essentially, a no-trade clause for the season. Hopefully this offers him the kind of comfort that comes from knowing where home is gonna be for awhile and that the Lakers, as an organization, see him as more than just some numbers to help fill salary for a trade. Close on Vando’s heels would be Rui Hachimura but I still see his role as being the first, best player off the bench and spot-starting for LeBron on load management days. Same thing for Christian Wood. I suppose Jaxon Hayes is still in the mix but, if we’re being honest, we want to see a defensive tone set from the start and that has Mandolorian written all over it.
3. Scorers not named Davis or James. Two guys have the greatest impact on scoring for the Lakers but this team is a lot bigger than just 2 guys now. D’Angelo Russell, with a new extension and a waived no-trade clause so he could both secure more guaranteed money and give the Lakers options later on in the season, should be next on the scoring list, in my opinion. We saw Russell end up deferring more and more as the season and playoffs wore on, we need him to be a lot more assertive consistently for us to get where we need to go. A lot of media pundits and fans already have D-Lo penciled as “out of town-trade bait” for this season. I’m not one of them, I can see D-Lo hitting a comfort zone where he uses the gravity of LeBron and AD along with maybe a little two-man game with Wood to free himself up for slithering drives to the rim and off the dribble jumpers. He looks a little bigger, hopefully that lets him finish even better at the rim. His jumper is smooth, always has been. He’s making better and better reads and training camp is where they can work out some sets for him to rock in. Next up, for me anyhow, is a dead tie between Rui and Reaves. If he comes off the bench I have a hunch Rui could be in the mix for Sixth Man of the Year. Feels like the benchmarks are 15+ ppg, 8+ rpg, 3+ apg and in a limited role…but not too limited. Those numbers can be bumped up and lowered but that’s my rough guess for what it will take to be in the convo. If Hachimura can average 20+ ppg off the bench with some decent splits and impact numbers in other areas he might run away with the award. I think we won’t see a huge stat bump from Reaves but we will see an increase across the board and with the same level of efficiency in all things. As in pretty much all our categories Wood is a big dark horse that could find his way into all these convos if he plays well on both ends.
4. Which youngster might find a larger role than anticipated? While I think JHS has what it takes to be an NBA-level rotation player i also tend to think he needs a year of G-league reps to get better acclimated. This team just doesn’t have a lot of minutes for in-game growth. Max Christie will likely be the best young player and has been turning heads in camp and was the best player off the bench in preseason game 1. With Cam Reddish already dropping a donut things can only look up for the over-hyped, under-delivering wing and he’s going to feel the heat on his heels from young Max. It’s not that I don’t want Reddish to succeed, I just think Christie is better prepared to take advantage of this moment as he’s both Cam’s equal (if not better) on the court but without the baggage of expectation or history. Plus he’s a guard, where we’re already thin. He’s going to at least get a shot early on, I think, and they’ll turn to Cam if/when Max hits a wall.
5. The Christian Wood Conundrum. Like Reddish I’m not actively rooting against the guy, I just have very low expectations of the return on the Lakers’ investment on this particular project. Like Reddish, Wood comes with baggage. Which is putting it mildly. Cam’s baggage comes in the form of expectation based off his hype/what he’s delivered to date equation. Wood has delivered, at least on offense. It’s what he does, or more specifically what he doesn’t do, on the other end that seems to drive his narrative at this point. A lot of folks are framing this as Wood’s last, best chance at being an impact NBA player and that’s not being hyperbolic. Consider the case of the better in every facet of the game Demarcus “Boogie” Cousins. Despite injuries to his legs Cousins has shown he can be an impact player off the bench and, despite sorely needing some form of stability in order to get his feet back under him has been bounced off of every team he played for after the season ended and is now, essentially, out of the league. Wood ain’t got half of what Boogie could do when he was healthy and even limited as he ended up becoming my feeling is Boogie would still give Wood a run for his money today. So Wood has a lot of stigma to overcome this season but he’s got all the tools and the right environment to do just that. If he chooses to.

All in all this is a redemption season for a lot of Lakers. Last season was about trying to outplay the narrative that Russell Westbrook and LeBron and AD couldn’t work. It never happened and Rob’s masterful wheeling and dealing at the deadline breathed new life both into last season but the Laker’s future, as well. Because multiple teams basically considered Vando an after-thought he landed in our laps as a throw-in. Reaves and hos agent doubled-down on Austin’s talent again and again and it’s paying off. Big. The work he’s done and his self-confidence have put him in a great position for an undrafted (even if that situation was in many ways self-created). Guys like Prince, Wood and Reddish are hoping to dramatically change the narrative of their respective careers and thus their potential earning power over the next couple of seasons. The biggest point of redemption is the health and availability of our two superstars, can LeBron and AD play in enough games for the Lakers to be truly relevant this season and beyond? Lots could break right and lots could break wrong. Only way to find out is to get through training camp and preseason as healthily as possible. Lets get to it.