Alright, alright. A win is a win and we’ll take a couple of them where we can get them. While these last few games have had zero impact on the Laker seeding, the Laker psyche has been bruised and beaten down a bit. Losses to inferior teams, inexplicable no-shows in terms of in-game involvement and slew of missed jump shots have brought us to the point where LeBron James himself has proclaimed the Lakers as ‘not mentally ready for the playoffs’. That needs to, and can, change.

1. Kyle Kuzma playing his best basketball with LeBron James and AD on the floor. This has been the brightest spot on these dim post-conference-clinching games. Furthermore, it’s the one thing that pretty much needed to happen for the Lakers to have a true shot at winning a title, especially with Bradley not being a part of this. Kuzma needs to be a threat off the bench and he needs to keep his mind focused and ready for his number to be called in odd moments. He said it himself in his post gamer, that he would be starting on most NBA teams. That’s true, and to his credit, he also acknowledged that now he plays behind 2 of the best on the planet. That’s also true. It’s taken time for Kuz to get both his mind and body right at the same time. It looks like he has and it couldn’t have happened at a better moment.
2. The Mystery and majesty of Alex Caruso. In all reality he shouldn’t have this much of an impact on an NBA game. He played in only 20 minutes, missed all his shots, missed all his free throws, had only 4 assists and 2 steals. But the way he plays emboldens the team, throws a wrench in what the other team tries to do, and he just has…a knack…for being on the floor when the game swings. AC’s +21 was a big reason we got on the right side of the W/L column last night.
3. Danny Green making some shots. I’d wager Danny would be the first one to tell anyone in ear shot that he’s had an off-season this year. Before the Bubble, in the Bubble, doesn’t matter. That shot just hasn’t fallen with the same frequency in season’s past. It won’t matter if he gets hot in the playoffs and hits 3’s off of LeBron or AD drive and kicks. The Lakers need him to be that floor spacer we desperately need when Davis and LeBron share the floor with him. His defense has been solid, as usual, but we need more for the money he’s getting and the rep he’s certainly earned.
4. Waiter’s bouncing back. Dion had sat a game, and had tailed off a bit after his hot Bubble start. He looked good again last night and, like the 3 dudes above him, we’ll need this kind of steady contribution (frankly even a little more) if we’re going to have a chance. He has the skills and savvy to put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses, especially when he’s on the floor with LeBron or AD, and we need him to stay aggressive but in control. I think he’s more than up to the task.
5. Cleaning the offensive glass. The benefit to playing large, like we generally do, is you ought to have a couple of the bigger guys on the floor. Meaning you should also get your share of rebounds. Offensive rebounding has, for whatever reason, become a passe’ stat. Coaches prefer to have the transition defense get back and cover the three point line or slow down the point of attack. I get it. And it makes sense in a lot of ways. But the goal is to put the ball in the basket and if a big dude can grab you some offensive rebounds and get you a put back or kick out three…well, that doesn’t suck.

All in all, I didn’t get too low during the little losing streak and I won’t be getting too pumped for this win. The big takeaway, for me, was Kuz having the coaches and team’s trust to take and make the shot off the curl play. Great draw up from Frank (admitted himself he stole it from Mike Budenholzer, lol) and it’s nice for the team to not have to talk about a loss. But there’s a long way for us to go before we feel playoff ready. As hot and strong as we were rolling before COVID we’re still warming up to life in the NBA Bubble. It is what it is, as they say…but we can do better and I think we will. Still tuning up, finding legs and integrating. Couple games to get some flow going, get into the groove, and come out on top!

One thing can unequivocally stated: the Lakers aren’t earning any style points with their play inside the Bubble. While the lack of execution, shooting and overall lackadaisical nature of how the Lakers a re playing is certainly not without concern, it’s still not what will define their time in the Bubble. That is still to come.

1. One way or another the Lakers need to come together fast. It’s all nervous Lakers fans want to see: LeBron effortlessly dropping 10 dimes/game like before, Anthony Davis being a threat on both ends, the bench playing with fire, role-players executing their roles. Unfortunately, as in all life, it’s just not that easy. We’re seeing a Laker team in a state of mid-season flux. Not only are we rebooting the season, we lost a major rotational player and we’re incorporating 2 new ones. Breathe, relax, there are a lot of positives to take away from this stretch of play.
2. Laker defense is still pretty solid. We have a top five defense inside the Bubble. Given the loss of Bradley and the fact that the new additions aren’t defensive stalwarts that’s impressive. It’s also good news concerning our playoff chances.
3. biggest issue is our outside shooting followed by no offensive flow. Free throws are third but I don’t see an elixir or balm that will soothe that woe. Outside shooting needs to improve, no question. It’s obvious that we’re still finding our legs and our grooves. We’re an older team, the younger squads seem to be adjusting to both the disputed schedule and life in the Bubble better than older teams. Just a feeling, no hard data on that notion, just a vague sense watching the games. No offensive flow I’m less worried about. We’ve barely played the same rotation game-to-game as Coach Vogel continues to see what combinations produce what results. This, for the Lakers, was always going to be a weird training camp/preseason hybrid. Especially after we clinched.
4. T.J. Warren is a baller. Suns will kick themselves for letting such an explosive and talented scorer go. For cash considerations, at that. That dude is destroying right now and could be a big factor in the eastern conference playoffs. Don’t quite see how Indy goes all the way…but it is the playoffs and anything can happen.
5. 8th seed might not be easy pickings. If we face a full-strength, hungry team from Portland I can only say this: I’m glad we’re not playing at the Rose Garden. We play terribly there, LeBron plays terribly there and if we do have to play the Trailblazers it feels like the Bubble is as good a place as any for that to happen. If it ends up being the Grizz, I like our chances much better but will still be a hard contest, especially if our issues scoring the ball continue.

Look, these games haven’t been exciting or hope providing. Most of them have been the polar opposite. But take heart, Vogel is still experimenting, still tinkering. Last night in his post-gamer he said he had yet to use his playoff rotation. That’s good news. So here’s hoping we win out and have a shred of momentum going into the real season.

Boing. Bonk. Clang. Clank. Ckunk, Unfortunately that isn’t the sound of construction near my apartment but the sound of the outside shot of the Los Angeles Lakers. It ain’t pretty but it’s still not all doom and gloom.

1. Unbalanced attack. Not quite enough force-feeding Anthony Davis like the first murder victim in 7, Gluttony. We kind of let P.J. Tucker and the Lilliputian defenders of the Rockets dictate the tempo of our offensive attack. We didn’t get the ball to Davis with much of a plan, or if there was a plan it was blown to a high degree.
2. The Mystery of the Disappearing and Re-appearing Anthony Davis. It’s quite the magic act to be able to make a talented 7 footer vanish but somehow Davis seems up for trying. While not quite as bad as the games against Toronto or OKC, considering LeBron was out this was Anthony’s big chance to show how he could dominate as a small ball center, punish the smaller Rocket defenders in order to have them sag off for mid-game threes only for that to be a set up for a game-sealing mid-range barrage. Instead we saw him outplayed and even bullied at times by the tiny Houston defenders. Tip-o-the-cap to Tucker and whatever rangy help defender they sent to double when he turned his back to the basket or before he would commit his dribble at the three. Davis needs to play above that kind of thing in the playoffs if we’re going to have any chance at all.
3. Quinn Cook doesn’t seem like he’ll have a shining moment as a Laker. Too bad. Good dude, played his way into a solid role on the Warriors, hoped he could challenge Rondo for PT. None of that ever happened. Not really sure what the issues of his fit with this team are because it feels like he could have been a solid backup PG on this squad. Seems like it’s just not destined to be.
4. Dion off, too, spelled the end. I feel like, despite all of the above and the underlying issues that are causing this struggle to reboot, if Dion had been on his game we would have been in this. We really didn’t get much from the bench. I’d like to see a couple games where Dion starts. Keep the tandem of KCP and Dwight Howard intact, they play really well with one another. KCP might have better stats and our winning percentage was better in the 20 games he started but that first unit, even with LeBron, has really bad spacing. Caldwell-Pope can come off the bench and fill a role, he’ll pair better with Caruso and make that second unit defense resemble the one that was on the same page in the regular season. Dion starting gives LeBron some space to get his game going, would have quality defenders to play with, and for all we know would play even better as a starter. Most guys do. But when he comes in along with Morris and Smith the defense just tanks. Probably won’t happen.
5. J.R. Smith welcome to the Lakers. He made his first basket (technically scored his first points last night on free throws) as a Laker. Now, please help me understand why he’s playing? Yes, it;s roughly for only 13-15 mpg but those are minutes you could be giving to one of the G-Leaguers during this little stretch to see what they can bring to the big club. The dude was a gunner of an extraordinary nature. He ain’t that machine gun now.

Still not overly concerned, we were out 2 starters and our best bench defender. Lakers not really playing with the same heart that we grew accustomed to during the regular season and one has to begin to wonder if there’s another switch or lever to pull. Can’t wait to long to find that groove, man.

I have not seen this Christian Wood kid play since I mostly watch Lakers games, and haven’t done any research on him yet, but if your articles are any indication, there must be something special about him that rains gold. Or should I say purple and gold?

Aloha, Michael,

Thanks for commenting. You’re right what we are going to do to improve our roster to try and repeat this season will depend entirely on whether Pelinka continues the plan to maximize cap space to chase a third superstar in the offseason after next season.

Personally, I would prefer that we went all in to win now as we need to get better if we want to win the championship next season because none of our competitors are going to stand pat. I also don’t want to get into the same situation we did last season where waiting for Kawhi cost us opportunities to become an even better team. Finally, having valuable players on good contracts could put us in a better position to land a player like Giannis than just having cap space. We saw sign-and-trades become the preferred transactions among many teams last offseason.

One factor I think strongly favors the Lakers protecting their cap space after next season is the reality that the third superstar plan doesn’t work unless LeBron James is willing to take less than a max contract, which kind of indicates LeBron must be amenable to doing that in the right situation, like Giannis deciding to join the Lakers. I don’t see Pelinka protecting that cap space without at least a token understanding LeBron would be amenable.

Bottom line, while I think Pelinka and the Lakers will still be shooting for the superstar after next season, I also think winning the championship has made taking advantage of the opportunity to repeat more important. Lakers have shown they have the best team in the league right now and it would be foolish not to be in a win now mode to repeat, especially knowing everybody else is going to be loading up to try to dethrone us. We also know some things we didn’t last offseason, including that LeBron is still the King and AD is now the second-best player on the planet.

The result is more of a win now attitude and hopefully an approach that recognizes cap space alone is not the answer. Our overreliance on cap space has at times limited what we were able to do with respect to trades and sign-and-trades. If we can get a player like Oladipo or Turner now, we’re not going to hesitate. If we have to pay to keep Rondo, Morris, KCP, and Howard, we’re not going to hesitate. We’ll still try to keep contracts as flexible as possible but won’t let cap space alone undermine improving the roster to win it again next season.

Well, that was informative. The Toronto Raptors played the Lakers riding a 10 game winning streak versus the purple and gold that they stretched to 11 and in the process illuminating a few troubling patterns.

1. Nobody on the Lakers is shooting well. Over the first 2 games in the bubble one thing is clear: our shooting is evidently still self-isolating in Los Angeles. Certainly hasn’t looked like it made the trip, so far. Over 2 games we’re shooting 27.6% from three, and 37.4% overall. Oddly enough we put up exactly 82 shots in both games making 3 more against the Clippers. In both the win and the loss we shot poorly. Some guys got hot at the right times against the Clippers, didn’t replicate that against the Raptors.
2. Danny Green has started off very, very slowly. Looks like he’s a step slow right now. He did play improved defense last night, especially on the low block, but still doesn’t look right on that front, either. As the 3rd highest paid Laker Danny needs to step it up a little bit and find a groove before the playoffs.
3. Dwight Howard’s mentality isn’t right. As always he looks ripped, he’s moving well but his mind is not in Orlando, yet. He pulled a lot of focus before entering the bubble on a lot of different fronts, has flouted some Bubble protocol and isn’t the X-factor he worked so hard to become during the regular season. It would be a shame if he didn’t at least approach that level of impact but right now I’d just as soon see JaVale McGee in those minutes until Dwight gets his head in the game. Needs to stop setting silly moving screens, needs to box out rather than clear out in the post, and he needs to let the refereeing go. Big time on that last one, which is certainly not an issue unique to Dwight Howard. But I feel that, in his case, he needs to focus on the hardwood and what he can do on it. Let the rest of that stuff sort itself out.
4. It’s been said before but it’s worth repeating: we’re only going as far as LeBron and Anthony take us. LeBron looks off, more human, less able to get to the rim at will. I think he’s miffed he’s not getting any foul calls unless they’re extremely obvious but he’s got to play through that and, like Dwight, focus more on what he needs to do to elevate this team without Avery Bradley. Davis looked fairly disinterested last night. Yes, he was often doubled whenever he got the rock, often a few seconds before. Toronto rotates on defense as well as anyone in the league, probably the best right now in the Bubble. But you have to find a way to score and outside of a stretch where he forced some whistles and followed it up with a three he was quiet for long stretches of the game. Might be trying to let the game come to him too much and needs to out the pedal down on his own.
5. I don’t think you can play J.R. Smith and Dion Waiters at the same time and expect the guys on the floor not to sieve points. Dion has some instincts on that end, has a couple of nice help plays coming from the weak-side to his credit, but overall looks pretty lost out there. J.R. was never a touted defender, tried well-enough during his high impact years in Cleveland but aging a couple of years and not playing last season didn’t improve his defensive moxie. Likely, it’s suffered and it’s hard for me to justify major minutes for Smith right now, especially when he looks gun-shy on wide open looks like he has in too many games, scrimmages included. He needs to get his head out of his brain and into a basketball and let it fly the second he’s open. We don’t need him to make another play, someone just made one for you and you need to shoot it dude. Waiters looks like he’s trying a little too hard to earn a payday when he just needs to find a rhythm with his teammates out there, especially Kuzma whom he’s likely to share a lot of minutes with. When all three (Smith, Waiters, and Kuzma) share the floor we’re over-weighted on scorers and need more defense and play-making. In a few weeks when Rondo comes back I highly suspect we’ll see his minutes pulled from Smith’s and we might end up seeing more Quinn Cook out there cause at least he knows where to be and when.

That’s the Fiver. Honestly, there could be another couple of topics (namely how good and hungry the Toronto Raptors look coming out of the gate, Nick Nurse is on point and has those guys believing, strong chance to repeat as eastern conference champs, IMO) but it’s only game 2 of the seeding games. Hard to see us losing out the rest of the way so I’m still thinking we lock up the west by the end of next week but the shooting and lack of defensive cohesiveness is troubling already. Hope to see game-to-game improvement in some areas as we move on.

Lastly, in a more real and sombre note, the first person I truly know and have worked with on some theatre projects in the past has come down with COVID-19. He and his girlfriend tested positive this week. They played it pretty safe, masked up, don’t go out in public much and they still got it. It’s real, we all need to do better and we need to continually question why more isn’t being done. So, please, do be careful, stay safe, be well and go Lakers.

The NBA is back. With so much of life in a state of flux watching some good ol’ fashioned NBA basketball was a very enjoyable experience. The games we’re highly competitive, shots are still a bit rusty as a general rule of thumb on all counts, and the televised environment still feels wonky. But the game mattered for the record books and so to all you Lakerholics I just want to say: welcome back, let’s do this.

1. To Live and die by the Laker defense. It started solid, we got out to a big lead by way of the Clippers missing shots as much as our team defense. That big lead slipping away in the second quarter followed by falling behind big only to come back and pull it out might be all you need to know about how the Lakers did at tightening loose screws. Kyle Kuzma continued to show improvement and intensity on defense. LeBron turned it up big-time in the 4th on defense. Anthony Davis was excellent. Good to see out of the gate.
   
2. Speaking of Kyle Kuzma… It’s no secret his role has changed from year’s past. Comes off the bench, doesn’t always finish games, and most frustrating (one would wager for him more than anyone) the foot injury he suffered over the summer wiped out the progress he had made on his game. First to show itself was an improved passing game. Next we saw his focus and aggression on defense start to improve and now, in the Bubble NBA, he looks more settled on the floor. Less harried, quieter feet and he’s more decisive shooting the rock. He showed off all of that improvement tonight and I hope it continues.
   
3. Dion Waiters making his presence felt. While he may not be the defensive force that Avery Bradley is there’s no denying Waiter’s ability to create offense. While it may not always be pretty (kind reminds of J.R. Rider’s game, actually) it’s effective. Can’t play him and our newest J.R. together, not if you want any defense. But when he played with LeBron or AD on the floor he, along with Kuzma, gives us a couple of secondary ball handlers who can get their own shot off. Important foe the playoffs.
   
4. We’re 2 wins or a win and another Clipper loss away from locking this all up and clinching the western conference. The Lakers could have something that a lot of other teams in the west won’t have: using their time how they please as we wind the end (this part) of the season down. I expect to see Frank continue to tinker with his second unit line up and rotations, in general. The minutes will likely stay around 35 mpg for AD and LeBron, I expect our key bench guys (Kuzma, Caruso, and Waiters…Dwight has some X factor to him) to play around 30 and I really hope our defense improves because that’s what’s going to matter in a couple, short weeks.
   
5. The new NBA. I have to say, I think the NBA is probably exceeding my expectations while still falling short of my hopes. Peeking to see what dudes wrote on their jerseys was cool enough, loved the player videos (and even a couple of the owners) in support of the peaceful protests, and I expect there to be more come the playoffs. On TNT I loved that sideline camera on a robotic dolly, honestly the replay cameras looking as terrible as they did is kind of inexplicable…there isn’t anyone’s view to block? Put a camera there man! Seeing the officiating made me wish that there had been a decision made to add a 4th ref. But there wasn’t and there probably never will. But, all in all, including the weird TECMO Bowl style crowd, I dig it. OK, the crowd is weird and the fake noise is still silly (not as silly as MLB which looks like they’re about a month or another team trip to gentleman’s club away from blowing it…) but doggone it… it was NBA basketball and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Looking forward to the Lakers locking up their seeding by Tuesday of next week at the latest. Could be as soon as this weekend. After that the focus will turn to tuning it up for the playoffs. Good position to be in.

So…that’s done. Preseason 2.0. Preseason Reprise. The Revenge of Preseason. Whatever you wanna call it, it has now concluded. Let the games in this new, weird environment begin!

1. Welcome back J.R. Smith. There he is, that unrepentant gunner that he will always be. Canning ridiculous shots? Check. Unforced, bonehead plays? Check. Silly tight handle in what appears to be zero space? Check. Honestly, I’m into all of it. Why not? I look at it like a retro throwback jam. There’s something refreshing that, in the middle of the madness, J.R. Smith is still J.R. Smith. Makes “normal” feel kind of within reach.
2. Devontae Cacok’s rebounding acumen. Rebounding crosses all lines. If you’re good at it, if you have size, if you’re on the court the ball seems to find you. Cacok has the tenacity to overcome his lack of size. He gets after it and has some nifty low post moves that don’t translate all that well to the modern game. Still, may end up being the most likely South Bay Laker to see big minutes.
3. Alex Caruso (aka the King of +/-). I have always dug what Alex Caruso brings, He doesn’t hold back, he’s a team-first guy, he can score better than he’s shown at the NBA level. He may never shine any brighter than that. For me, it’s bright enough. If you play the game the right way, if you honor the basketball gods by making the extra pass, the smart cut, by diving for loose balls, you will have earned my respect and appreciation.
4. Dion Waiters showing off his skill set. Dion may end up being a season-altering pick-up. For literally nothing we added a 3 tool player. Scores inside, scores outside, makes plays. My biggest concern is how quickly he can be acceptable on defense. So far, not really acceptable at all. We got 8 seeding games to work out kinks like this and I feel that Vogel and the staff are up to the challenge.
5. No injuries. Can’t be overstated enough. The most important thing coming out of these scrimmages was that no serious injuries be suffered. While we had some scars it sounds like that we’ll be seeing the team at full strength when the season kicks off.

So, as we approach the reboot of the NBA, I want to pause and remember how we got here. This is an unprecedented, possibly unnecessary, moment in time. While we will never live in an alternate reality where COVID-19 went the way of Ebola, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, and other novella viruses we will survive this. The way the NBA has come together through everything that is rocking the planet right now is not only to be commended but in my opinion admired. Is it perfect? Certainly not, and what human endeavor is? Especially in the face of adversity. So do, please do, enjoy this moment. You’ve earned it. Yes, it’s only basketball and there are definitely things of a weightier matter going down. But one way or another it’s happening. Because on Thursday it matters. Again.

Looks like this is happening. OK, well then, let’s do this.

1) The game 1.0. Smooth first half saw both teams scoring to type, not too many beats being missed. Starting five? As expected, James, Davis, McGee, Green and Caldwell-Pope. First rotation got pretty much starter minutes. Kuzma was the first man off the bench, Cook was second after KCP took a quick trip to the locker room to get a rolled ankle re-taped. Waiters came in and made it happen. LeBron and Davis were solid, second unit was ready to do their job, and our defense was pretty locked in. For a preseason game our starters and rotations looked solid even with news that Caruso was out earlier today.

2) No AD or LBJ or Danny Green for the second half. Was nice to get extended looks at some guys, nobody really flipped their script. Kuz was still Kuz. Dudley is a savvy vet. Quinn Cook looked good. Dwight will be Dwight and looked good. J.R. Smith looks pretty. Waiters cooled but I like what he brings. All and all, more of an outlier than a predictor. The guys on the court for the second half won’t really ever be asked to do play the roles they were in.

3) The COVID-19 thing. Masks on most of the staff and masks on pretty much all the folks in attendance. Refs and players, even on the bench, were not masked. Very spaced out bench, as well. Plexiglass in front of pretty much every seat on the side line except the benches.

4) The broadcast was interesting. Black Lives Matter across the middle of the court, prominently displayed. Didn’t see any message jerseys but it was only a scrimmage. On Spectrum Sports Net they deployed the entire pregame team at times to do it’s game calling. Came off as more conversational which I enjoyed for the scrimmage. No camera guys on the baseline must be nice for the players. Less to worry about falling on or tripping over. Loved the mood lighting.

5) Nobody got seriously hurt. It’s a scrimmage, this team has bigger fish to fry. The things that need to look good looked good. The second half will never happen when the games matter unless it’s a blow out. Move on, the big guns will ramp it up every game.