5 THINGS

Frankly, it’s not about the wins or losses but the habits that are formed in preseason. You want to see your best players looking ready to play their best. You want to see role-players who look hungry when put into a situation where that role expands. Above all you want to see the team play hard and just compete at a high level. All those boxes got checked last night.

1. Davis looking dominant. Between his legs still coming back into shape from the bubble-2020-21 season grind to his wrist injury it has been awhile since AD looked like AD. This preseason looks different. He’s moving better, playing stronger, and he’s looking smooth in every facet of the game. The best indicator of his legs and arms being right in terms of shooting has been his return to elite status from the free throw line. Davis imposed his will on whomever the Warriors sent his way scoring inside and out, making plays on the defensive end, and generally showing everyone he’s back. Bring that game into the regular season, stay healthy, and the narrative around this team changes instantly.
2. Kendrick Nunn making everyone a believer. I love how Kendrick has showed up this preseason. Looking fully healed from The Bone Bruise That Would Not Heal we are seeing exactly what the Lakers were missing all of last season. I love the idea of Nunn coming off the bench and being the first option in that unit as opposed to Russ or Beverley. Nunn can get his own shot, is excellent on catch and shoot plays, and is decent enough on defense to be included in potential closing line ups. As the first option of the bench unit he can just go out and play freely and get buckets without worrying about stepping on anyone’s role.
3. Both Two-Ways should focus on improving in the G league. I like the potential in both Christie’s and Pippen Jr’s game, but I don’t need to see them work out how to make it work on the game’s biggest stage this season. Both are too raw for significant roles on the real team, for now, but could certainly see some spot duty later this season. Pippen is crafty with the ball and, like his Pop, has a solid all-around game minus the elite size/skill combo. Christie has the tools and mind set of a potential elite defender but just needs to get reps in everything we’re doing which is exactly what the G league is for. Both can use time just getting shots up at real game speed.
4. Thomas Bryant looking free and fiery. I just love how Thomas Bryant attacks the game of basketball. I well remember all the talk about his skills and abilities while he languished on the Laker bench only to see him get away for nothing (a common theme for the Laker front office) and sign with Washington. Back again but with some NBA pedigree and a fire that missing most of a season (but with a summer of work) gives a player, Bryant is the best player to start, in my opinion. It gives the first unit someone who wants to get down the court on the break every play. That’s not LeBron, anymore, and I want AD in the paint on defense as much as possible for altering shots and rebounding. Bryant is fast, he can score in a variety of ways in the paint with athletic finishes or nifty jump hooks and he has a three ball to help in the half court. Jones just has a less dynamic game and he picks up fouls. Fast. Let him be a solid addition to the second unit and let’s go.
5. Wenyan Gabriel trying to stick. I like Wenyan’s hustle and he has the physical tools to be an impactful defender. He had some real nice plays last night but his attention to detail can wane, often in key moments when he gets caught looking. He’s still raw (77 NBA games played in total, not even a full season’s worth) and he needs the right role to give him the best chance to succeed, however. Is that on this team? We need guys with size and he’s quick enough to hang with most wings. I can see him being the primary backup to AD or I can see him as the 15th guy on the bench. He doesn’t have a great stroke but he’s athletic. I would put him in with the best second unit guys and see what he has early but could see his minutes go to someone with a more developed and specialized skillset (Ryan, Christie or Harrison, should he make the team over Ryan).

Kudos to Matt Ryan showing everyone who can shoot. Took 9 threes, made six and hit a couple from the stripe. Shaquille Harrison is making more money (due to service time) and is a far better defender but Ryan has the ability to suck a defense out of the paint when he’s hot, as he was last night. We’re talking about the last guy on the roster unless Gabriel is waived, which I don’t see happening but certainly could, so it’s not a team altering choice. Basically comes down to what coach Ham values more: shooting or defense.

While not the outcome Laker fans are ready for (a win) the team showed a lot more of what it can do last night against a top-rated opponent.  Yes, Phoenix is in a state of semi-upheaval (Sarver Gate, Crowder Gate, Ayton Grumpy) but they still looked solid for the half they played the key players in.  That would be the first half.

1. Lakers go small. The starting lineup of Reaves, Beverley, Westbrook, James and Gabriel was fine. Little small for my tastes but that’s how one rolls when AD has back issues but more on that on down the line. Reaves must have wanted to prove me wrong after the last 5er downplayed his playmaking skills. True Grit (my personal moniker for him) racked up 9 dimes to three turnovers which is what’s called setting the table proper. Reaves didn’t force his offense and was content setting up his guys all night long. Having Beverley play alongside him helps stabilize things. I like how Pat just makes the play in front of him. Open shot, take it. Guy open somewhere and you have a hand in your face, move the ball. Communicate on D, get results. If AD was the 5 in this lineup I could see it being our closing 5. Still prefer a more traditional look with either Jones or Bryant to start but if this is how coach rolls to start the season I won’t be mad.
2. Starters shot the three ball well, bench notsomuch. Except for Nunn the bench struggled with it’s three point scoring all night long. Generally the bench has just struggled to score. Rob filled out the Laker bench this season with rangy guys who can kind of slash to the rim and Ham seems to have not unlocked who should be slashing and who should be shooting. Some of these issues won’t be as magnified when the minute distribution normalizes but the bench is already looming as one of the bigger issues.
3. That LeBron is OK at basketball. One game removed from going O-fer LeBron looked like LeBron. Who knows how he’ll stand up to the 82 game grind but his tune up looks pretty solid. He’s not the two-way force he was in the past but if we can get a defensive lineup around him I like our shot against a lot of teams. Elite teams are going to be a handful…but they are for everyone. That’s why they’re elite.
4. Kendrick Nunn lighting it up. Loved Nunn off the bench in the microwave role. In my opinion, at this early stage, it’s the best use of his skillset and he can be the first option in a lot of the lineups when James or Davis are out. Feels like he can be close to a point-a-minute guy which serves us well off the bench. Bringing Nunn off the bench allows Reaves to be the glue guy (which he got props from The King himself on post game) and possibly start Beverley to help on D. Not sure I want to bail on Jones or Bryant starting yet but…
5. Neither Jones or Bryant is grabbing that torch and running with it. Both players came into camp talking about seizing the moment and such. Still waiting on that one. I’m sure Damien worked on his three point shot over the summer but it’s not falling yet. I really think he’s the better off the bench center of the two mainly because that unit, in theory, will run more of the system and less of the “give the ball to a superstar and clear out” offense. Knowing your number is called on a specific play or what you’re supposed to be doing on a given set could be the key to best utilizing Jones and his athletic skillset. In the end, I’d rather station the kid closer to the hoop for rebounds and put backs, he’s shown to be able to excel in that role, no need to reinvent the wheel if it ain’t rolling smoothly. Bryant can function as a release valve for cut off dribble drives or broken plays. He’s quick enough of foot to get back under the hoop from the corner three spot if it looks like a shot is going up from someone else and his shot is just more polished and reliable.
   

All in all, an improvement. Still would like to see more execution and poise from all of our bench guys, especially guys who are unlikely to make the team. You want a shot somewhere else? No better place to get some shine on your game than here. Go get it and bring it home. Go Lakers.

We should all go back and look at what we posted and wrote about preseason last summer. What many considered to be a non-factor, essentially an obstacle to the regular season and the forthcoming romp through the regular season en route to the playoffs, turned out to be a harbinger of doom. The Lakers loafed through preseason and showed everyone they weren’t done. Loafing, that is. They proceeded to loaf their way through the regular season and right out of the playoff and subsequently playin picture altogether. The casualties of that loafing about were basically relegated to one man: Frank Vogel. The coach has been the biggest change from last year to this. Out is coach Vogel, in is coach Ham. The fringes of the roster changed as well. Other than that, not all that much changed for the Lakers which means the biggest thing that has to change for success to be enabled is the attitude of the players themselves.

1. Respect what preseason is for. A good or bad preseason doesn’t guarantee a good season nor does it doom a team to a bad one. But it does have it’s place in a complete NBA season and it is an important one. It’s where the foundation of what the team can accomplish is laid down. It’s where habits, good and bad are formed. It’s where somebody hoping to make the team can get a shot to show what they can do with an expanded role or next to elite players. It’s where a guy who worked on a deficiency all summer can test it out in a NBA-level environment, not just in the gym. For vets it’s a tune up, especially for a vet like LeBron whom there are no more questions about is he or is he not prepared. He is. I don’t need to see the Lakers win out during preseason or play the Trio big minutes but I do want to see it used properly, unlike last season.
2. Move on from the summer. This one applies to, well, all of us. The team, the fans, and especially the media. Everyone was so invested in what a Russell Westbrook could look like they never imagined, or seemingly planned for, a reality where Westbrook was still a Laker today. He is and likely will be until closer to February and possibly the entire season. Since we have his Bird Rights it shouldn’t be inconceivable he re-ups with us, all things considered. Whatever happens in that scenario it’s well past time we all just moved on. If a trade happens we’ll see who it’s for and recalibrate but I’m not giving anymore “OMG WHAT ABOUT THIS TRADE?!?!” articles or posts the time of day from here on out. Not until January 2023. For all intents and purposes, this is the Laker team and I’m rolling and rooting from them. Like I do.
3. Stay healthy. The absolute #1 goal of any preseason in all sport is for the team to get through it as healthy and intact as possible. This then reapplies to the regular season and once again for the playoffs. Rinse, wash repeat, as they say. For the Lakers this has a double-edge to it, though. We need to see Russ, AD and LeBron get reps with the new guys. They need it, the new guys need it, and it was one of the biggest aspects of last preseason that doomed the regular season so completely. We need to find that balance and get everyone some time on the floor together. Mini camp in San Diego ain’t enough.
4. Buy in to the new coach. Everyone is saying all the right things. It’s what this time of year is for: paying lip service to all the great moves, the new things the coach wants and so on. In fact, we heard the exact same words coming out of people’s mouths this time last season, too. We need more than lip service and glad handing. We need buy in and it needs to show itself on the floor. Saying and doing are vastly different and nothing proved that more than the Lakers 2021-22 NBA regular season. It wasn’t until a few vets got real in post game comments after it was much too late to do anything about it that you heard that if the other team just played harder they would beat the Lakers. Unacceptable and inexcusable. Coach Vogel was a patsy, a fall guy if you will, for an entire organization’s failures from the owner to the last player on the bench. That cannot happen again.
5. Have fun. Given the somber summer we just went through, the drudgery that was last season, and the fact that Father Time is undefeated it would be easy to mope into the season. Don’t fall prey to that trap, this is sport, it’s a game, the players are all pretty good at playing it they just need to make it work as a cohesive unit. Go out there and have fun, smile, nothing erases bad memories like good new ones so let that be the thing that guides you into the regular season from here on out. That’s another one that goes for everyone, fans and team alike. No NBA roster is perfect, stop worrying about making the perfect trade, listen to the vets and coaches and just go hoop man!
   
   We’ll learn a few things about this Laker team tonight and more as preseason moves on. Hoping for a lot of good things tonight but mostly just to see how competitive we can be and for everyone to get through healthy. Go Lakers.