Aloha
Well the preseason hasn’t been exactly smooth
so far. I’m not to concerned, I still think the Lakers will be the team to beat, but there is A LOT of work to do. Losing to a Warriors team without Steph and Green, when our big 3 played was not encouraging. When you add 11 new players to your roster there is bound to be a real long learning curve. The first year of the big 3 in Miami saw a team with 3 hall of famers get off to a 9-8 start. Fortunately we have a very favorable early schedule and should be able to pick up a lot of wins on sheer talent alone. If you recall last year we started fast with a lot of new faces but we also were winning ugly. I expect a lot of early ugly wins this year. Compounding our problems is injuries. We have lost 2 of our 4 small forwards. I suspect we will see LeBron at the 3 with Melo at the 4 until we get a little more depth back. I would love to see us sign Ennis to a non guaranteed deal. We would have until mid December to guarantee it. Ironically we were once a guard heavy squad, we currently only have 4 healthy guards. Fortunately both Monk and Nunn appear to be ready soon, possibly for opening night. You never know for sure. So it’s going to be a rocky start, even if we are winning, it may not be pretty for awhile.
Aloha, Michael.
Great points. I’m also not concerned but do expect it to take a longer than expected for everything to jell. Some of that is also due to the injuries. Just hope it doesn’t turn into a constant thing like it did last year. We never got a chance to stablize the lineups and rotations.
We also filled the two-way with a prospect but I agree with you that we should at least bring in guys on a 10-day contract who might be able to give us some size on the wing until Ariza returns. I hope Monk and Nunn will be ready.
The injuries are going to hurt THT as Reaves could get his minutes. He’s one of those guys who plays better with better players. And he’s 6′ 5.” We’re going to need his size, D, and 3-point shooting. He’s a smart, savvy defender like Caruso, someone Frank can trust to be in the right spot.
I thnk we could see AD, LeBron, Bazemore, Reaves, and Russ as the starting lineup tomorrow night. I would not be surprised to see that wihat with all the injuries and how well Reaves fits. Not saying he’s going to start next Thursday but for the last preseason game, I think he’s earned the start.
Tom, you literally said me and Gerald were chicken littles…Now 4 of our 14 roster players are injured…
Tom flip flops with the wind. One day he predicts 70 wins and a new NBA record for regular season excellence, the next he’s talking about time to gel. Too wishy-washy for me at times but at least he’s coming around to something resembling reality. Next, when the Lakers don’t always run 5-out sets, or shoot ridiculously well from three (which has been the case thus far) he’ll switch back to how this team wins with defense and the offense will be there when we need it. Being called chicken little by LT means it’s preseason and he’s still flying high on the Marc Stein newsletter from 2 months ago, lol.
While 0-5 start in the preseason could cause nervousness to some of us fans, the fact is these are veterans who I would expect to coast on cruise control once they jell. They just need more time together for everything to work.
For me, the biggest joy I am getting from this preseason is the unexpected and improved play from Rondo and Reaves. I was not expecting this kind of level-headed play from them. I am also impressed with Dwight Howard. There are elements of his game that we were missing last season. I just wish the referees could give him a chance to stay on the floor
So far I am paying more attention to our three-point shooting as it is our biggest area of need. I will shout out praises once they start making them at a constant clip.
Good points, Buba. I expect Rondo to be the backup to Russ. He’s just too good to sit and there’s no way Nunn can run the offense the way Rajon can do. Just want him to make a little more effort on defense.
I love Reaves and think, as I said in the last Lakers Fast Break podcast, I think he could end up being a better NBA player than Alex Caruso. I’m hoping he gets a start tonight and wouldn’t be surprised if he earned regular rotation minutes in the season.
Dwight has also separated himself from DeAndre whom I hope DNP.
Reaves is aight. 👍👍👍👍