5 THINGS

With all signs pointing to a return of LeBron James, the Lakers a re approaching full-strength (minor injuries or illnesses aside). This will create not only a shift in the starting line up, but also a ripple effect on down the roster as Redick squeezes LeBron’s 30+ MPG out of the rest of the team not named Luka, Ayton or Reaves. Add in that we salvaged the road trip with a very convincing win over Milwaukee and the Lakers a re primed to keep pace with the logjam in the west.

1. Who loses the starting spot to LeBron? It’s a real toss up between Hachimura (legacy option, chemistry option, spacing option) and Smart (defense option, grit option, vet). If I had to take a guess I’d say Smart for the following reasons: the bench lacks a guard and a shooter. Smart mostly fits into both those molds. If Rui were more aggressive in hunting his own offense or even just better at breaking his man down off the dribble I’d start to lean more in that direction. He doesn’t. Smart is much better at creating something resembling an NBA offense than Rui is. In terms of the starting five, Rui provides essential spacing and a release valve for when the ball handler drives the ball into the teeth of the defense. Pairing LeBron with Smart would be a paint clogging choice to make as it’s hard to imagine team’s rushing to close out on the 23.1% three point shooting of Marcus and surrender a drive to LeBron or a lob to Ayton from Luka. Smart will up that number, I have to hope because it’s difficult to imagine him shooting any worse from distance (although it’s technically possible…) and at 93.8% from the stripe it makes infinitely more basketball sense to have him play with the ball and drive it into the paint after the starters theoretically get into the bonus. The issue for me is if, with the ball in his hands, the only number Marcus consistently calls for pull up threes is his own. That would be an unmitigated disaster, and not really emblematic of the leadership skills I had hoped we brought him in for. He could be incredibly effective driving and kicking or creating easy buckets for Thiero or kick out to Knecht and get those guys the quality shots that build NBA level confidence. He doesn’t need to be a volume three point threat on this team, he needs to be a leader.
2. Ayton is starting to find a new level of comfort. I thought his last game was his best in a Lakers uniform. he defended, he yelled at the sky, he made shots from 15-20 feet out and above all he played hard for every second he was on the floor. So many of the questions surrounding players with a bad rep often stem from the situations they find themselves in. You can imagine there are a number of players out there that are square pegs being forced into round holes (cough-cough Cooper Flagg cough-cough) and are just needing a change of scenery that allows them to be the best version of themself. That seems to be the case here. He was stellar against the Bucks and we need him to keep that fire lit and burning brightly.
3. Dalton Knecht slowly turning it around. Since he started popping a couple elbow jumpers/game a couple weeks back, Knecht has started to show signs of life. He’s up to 32.6% from three, is shooting 63.2% from 2 (which makes me want to see him let the defense fly by and take step into a long two more often if not drive it to the rim harder) and he has been competing on D. His defensive numbers are up, at a miniscule level, and his body language looks much improved. Unfortunately, Dalton is on the short list of players whom I expect to get bumped out of the rotation, barring foul trouble or injury, in lieu of LeBron James.
4. Introducing Adou Thiero! Our draft pick from the summer made his Lakers debut and it wasn’t half bad. His length and lateral quickness were a solid defensive addition and he got to the stripe for his first NBA points and scored his first NBA bucket on a lob near the end of the game. Post-game drama aside, Theiro’s debut was just about everything a fan could hope for. Not gonna lie, I thought Vando just might have fought the ref for the ball until half the team came over and stepped in lol. Ahhh, Vando, you got the chip of a 1,000 Suns on your shoulder my man. It will be interesting to see what kind of role Adou can carve out once LBJ is playing his normal allotment of minutes. There’s a list of players he could pass on the depth chart if he can shoot a respectable percentage and play NBA level, or better, defense. That includes Vanderbilt, Knecht, Bronny, and Kleber. It’s on him to be both consistent and ready in what will likely be an up and down rookie season in terms of role.
5. The task at hand. As we gear up to face the Jazz in what looks to be another wasted season, it’s important to stay in the moment and focused on the job that needs doing. Despite being one of just 4 teams that has won double-digit games (Detroit in the east, and OKC, Denver and ourselves in the west) we’re still sitting 4th in the western conference standings. That’s what happens when you’re not prepared for an opponent like we’ve shown against Portland or Atlanta, from your coach giving up when you’re down 20 at the end of the 3rd and when the players go into a game lacking the proper focus and energy (an issue that starts at the top and bleeds all the way down to the guy who wipes the floors with the cool Lakers mop). This team really feels like one young player breaking out or Smart rediscovering just some of his ability to shoot the ball or Vando recapturing the magic on both ends that helped us storm our way back into the playin three seasons ago. Anyone of those things feels like it could catapult us to almost even with Denver. Two or three of those and suddenly OKC, while still clearly leading the pack, might start looking over their shoulders a bit more. It’s not like the Lakers have been close to healthy or even showed us what the best they can be looks like (Milwaukee felt awfully close, though). SO here’s hoping the best basketball is in front of us, that there’s some magic left in some of our role-players to summon forth and add impact and consistency and that Redick can keep his cool as much as seems to enjoy the wins. It all comes with it, nothing to do but figure out how to adapt and thrive. Overcoming yourself is the first step to being great. Ask the King, whose return is imminent.

If the idea of the first of it’s kind NBA Free Throw Contest appeals to, well, last night was the game for you! For the rest of us, the 3+ hours affair had one true bright spot: the Lakers won. In what was billed as a battle of the current and future stars of the NBA in Vic vs. Luka, the free throw line reigned supreme as we saw three Spurs foul out, while Luka, Jake LaRavia & Marcus Smart finished with 5 for the Lakers. In a game where neither team seemed inclined to adapt to loose whistle and saw both teams shoot a combined 84 exciting and pulse racing free throws, the Lakers managed to contain Wemby for and scratch out their 5th win in a row. Still, that marh to the stripe…over…and over…and over again…was thrilling.

1. Rui Hachimura needs to be more selfish. Pretty sure that’s what he said the staff told him this summer. Pretty sure we. as fans, have been clamoring for him to have a alarger role in the offense, and on a nightly basis he keeps showing us why. Rui led all starters with a +/- of +6, shot 55.7% on mostly jumpers while going 2-3 from three. The ultimate release valve on a team that desperately needs one based on our overall shooting (33% as a team, good for 24th in the league although it is trending upwards). Rui’s presence as starter is vital, he provides needed spacing and he doesn’t give up much on the other end. His lack of aggression hurts him in the rebounding department but I can live with that. He played solid defense on Wemby, keeping him from getting to his spots and making sure he felt a body on him. All in all, Rui is the kind of cog you need in a playoff machine. Like James Worthy, Rick Fox and Lamar Odom before him, Rui can fill that scoring, solid defense (if not elite) that help grease the wheels for success.
2. Smart being smart. In a game with such quick whistles, Smart was able to bait the Spurs into foul after foul which helped offset another really bad shooting affair. Smart’s shooting will be an issue, because it’s bad. he is, by far, the worst shooter on the team which does nothing to deter him from launching shots at any point in the clock. I’m still working my way into fully believing Marcus Smart should be relied on as a either a starter or closer. Some probably would compare his game to Rondo’s but, in my opinion, there are several differences: Rondo won championships, Smart has not. Rondo’s outside shooting improved over the course of his career, Smart’s has not. Rondo was able to blend multiple alpha egos…as a rookie…into a cohesive winning force. Smart was traded away and his team instantly improved. None of that is written in stone, Marcus has the ability to add to his story and add that elusive missing piece: a ring. But he needs to become a better release valve for Luka and Reaves and, eventually, LeBron James on offense and hit those open shots. It’s a make or miss league and one has to wonder if Smart, like Vanderbilt, will have severe limitations because of his streaky shooting come the playoffs.
3. 50. Speaking of Vando, he hit his 50th three pointer against the Spurs. Like Smart, his intangibles are more important in the regular season. We’ve seen him played off the floor in the playoffs before and, if he wants to reach another level, it’s going to come from scoring the rock more consistently and from range. Smart isn’t gun shy, which can be a gift and a curse (or gifurse, as I call them) and you can see Vando mulling over all the misses from three’s he’s had over the years. He needs to get past that and play more freely. His role as the back up 3/4 seems pretty defined, I don’t really see him losing minutes when The King returns (that honor will go to Hayes, Knecht and LaRavia, I think) but if he wants to see a bigger and more consistent role it’s all on him to score at a higher level.
4. LaRavia up and down. Jake had a rough outing against San Antonio. Missed shots he normally makes, the nature of the game didn’t really play to his strengths and his foul issues plagued his overall defensive impact where he seemed limited. I like Jake and see him as a big piece for the future (and one of the reasons we might see a Rui trade this season if Jake can shoot half as well) but one of the biggest hurdles young players face is discovering how to be consistent. Add to that, if your shot isn’t falling…how else can you have a positive impact on the game? Jake usually doesn’t allow his offense to dictate his effort but I felt like last game he struggled with that. None of this is a critique of his regular season game, he’s been pretty solid. This is all about finding a combination of players that can rise to the challenge of winning at the next level.
5. Luka’s elite D. I’ve been pretty impressed with Luka overall. The only gripe is when he gets into the teeth of the D and you realize dude has no plan. His defense has been solid and, against the Spurs, it was elite. 5 steals is getting it done. Especially in a game where the shots just aren’t falling (9-27, 4-11 from deep). The defense, along with his game high 13 assists, was enough to secure the win (barely) but seeing compete at the level he has been on D has been wonderful to watch.

5 game road trip kicks off tomorrow night (my 51st birthday) so just hoping for a birthday win for yours truly.

You don’t pencil this game in as a loss, you get it engraved on a silver plaque and mount it on the schedule: No Luka, no LeBron, no Reaves, no Vincent, and still no Adou. Back-to-back…in Portland…against the defense that just schooled you on getting the ball across the timeline, let alone into an offensive set. Team lands at 2 AM, checks into the hotel at 3 AM. Call it an L and head home content with the split. And yet… These Lakers found a way to keep their composure, adapt to the uber-physical Trailblazers, and pull out possibly the highest quality win of Coach Redick’s young coaching career. Something’s happening here.

1. Nick Smith Jr. While it wasn’t a career night for the young man from Jacksonville, Arkansas it was a much needed and stellar showing. Nick got hot early and rode that heat all the way until the end of the game. His line was solid: 25 points on 10-15 FGs (5-6 from three…scorching). 1 defensive rebound (which led to a highlight assist), 1 steal and 6 dimes to 3 TOs. All in a tidy 27 minutes. Next man up indeed.
2. Rui Hachimura. Rui is approaching untouchable folks. He’s shooting 59.3% from the floor and the majority of those are jump shots of some kind or another, 45.5% from three and is a real stabilizing and consistent threat for this Lakers team. Other than the Memphis game where he only got 4 shots off, he’s been a major component in our offensive attack. Could he rebound more? Sure, maybe, it’s also a function of his role since the staff has him stationed out at the three point line on every play. Could he defend better? Sure, that goes for pretty much the entire team. But if you ask me what you want from your 3rd/4th option (which is what his role on this team is defined as) this is it: be consistent. I’ll take a guy who scores 10 ppg in that role vs. a guy who scores 5 one night and 15 the next. That’s not consistency even though both average 10 ppg. Rui has become a foundational piece for this team and it’s harder and harder for me to see a trade that brings back a better player that fits into that role.
3. The Laker bench. It was only 4 guys (Vando, Hayes, Smith Jr. and Bronny) and we lost Hayes to a rolled ankle in the 2nd half. The Laker bench was able to help break the Portland pressure and build a blueprint on how to beat the incessant full court press Portland deploys. The starters struggled with it as they kept trying to screen there way to the rim rather than match speed for speed. Every single guy off the bench brought the ball across the timeline from the backcourt at least once. Once we adapted to their physicality (which was aided by some surprising calls, IMO, but evidently it was an off-night for NBA officials in general if Jaylen Brown has anything to say about it #tatumkarma) we got and stayed in the game. The scoring was handled by Nick, Bronny matched his career high with 6 assists (and more impressively z-e-r-o turnovers) and Vando brought the D and the intensity we need from our bench. Hayes looked like he was moving around OK so hoping he’s good to go moving forward.
4. Marcus Smart’s leadership. Like Vando, you can’t always discern Smart’s impact from the box score. His value won’t always be measured in points, assists, steals or rebounds. Smart had another awful game from the field (3-11, 1-5 from three), had as many turnovers as assists. only had 2 rebounds but brought the D with 4 big steals. He was a +10 in 32 minutes (Vanderbilt was a +1 in 21 minutes). What stood out from me in this game was when Avdija elbowed him in the head (foul on Smart), you could tell Marcus had reached the tipping point but instead of losing his cool he walked (and the Trailblazers tried to make it more than it weas by crowding the moment and got everyone shoving which led to the refs trying to break it up, and quite calmly asked Deni “Do you have a problem with me?” before subbing out like a pro and getting his mind right to close out the game. Pro move, one that diffused what could have the been the moment the Lakers lost their composure and the game. Playing it cool is always the right move, especially on the road when the other team’s game plan is to push the envelope of physicality.
5. The vibe. Watched the post game interviews from both Redick and Smart, good stuff. The vibe around the team is great right now. JJ is pushing a lot of the right buttons, guys who are in the wings are rising to the occasion, and the stars shine both individually and in tandem. The only question is what impact adding LeBron will have to this. Does it move Smart or Rui to the bench? My current guess would still be Smart because Rui’s shooting is so key to everything we do. When Vincent comes back he’ll need to show he can contribute at the same level he was during preseason because some of these young dudes are starting to find a solid niche. I won’t say he’s lost his role…yet…but his struggles scoring when the games matter isn’t a part of a winning equation for us. All in all, we’re approaching games the right way and that’s a big thing for us this early in the season with so many new additions that also play fairly large roles. Credit to the staff for keeping the ship steered in the right direction and the players for getting it done on the court.