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.
How great to wake up to Jamie’s ‘5 Things!’ Thanks, Jamie.
1) We may still be in the middle of a horrific pandemic but I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Lakers throttle the Dallas Mavs in the first half of last night’s game. LeBron and AD looked like they hadn’t missed a beat. Other than a scare when KCP rolled his ankle and went to the locker room, the starting five played impressively, especially considering how long they were off and how little time they’ve had to get ready to return to action.
2) As I predicted, Frank Vogel pretty much shut down the starters after the first half and the game regressed to what was essentially a preseason scrimmage with a series of lineups that Jamie pointed out we’re not likely to see at all once the playoffs begin. It was good to see THT, Kostas, and Devontae get some buckets and the bench to go crazy supporting them. Loved that the team chemistry also seems to have not missed a beat.
3) Have to give Adam Silver and the NBA kudos for doing a great job on keeping the player safe. The league is showing the rest of professional sports how things should be done. You just get a sense of confidence by the players and everybody that the bubble is working.
4) Living in Northern California, I don’t get Spectrum Sports on my cable so it was interesting to hear the Lakers crew call and comment on the game. Overall, I found the presentation to be professional and the way the Lakers banners cut out what was normally the first dozen rows of spectators was a smart move. I was surprised that the Lakers didn’t deploy any of the big screens like the Heat did for their scrimmage. I also didn’t see a playing of the national anthem, which I thought might have given the players an opportunity to kneel in respect for George Floyd but it was just a scrimmage.
5) Jamie is right biggest event of the night was no injuries. Bottom line, I don’t think Lakers fans could have wished for a better first scrimmage. All the things that mattered were good. LeBron and AD playing great. Dion Waiters looking like a key addition to run the second unit. Green playing well. KCP playing good defense. Kuzma playing with confidence. We need to remember we were still missing Caruso and Morris, two key role players. Lakers and NBA basketball are back and it couldn’t come at a better time.
Hitting upon what Jamie talked about… 1) It was great to see the Lakers back out on the court again and as long as we have LeBron and AD are out there, you have to make the Lakers the favorite. 2) Wise move by Vogel to rest the starters even though some watching some of the end of the bench guys play can be a little tough to watch. 3) Silver and the NBA do deserve a lot of praise but as we get closer to the season, the concern is that with a group of players outside the bubble to attend to family matters, will the conditions continue to be OK for the teams when they get back. 4) As far as the presentation is concerned, Spectrum sports visually did a great job, but having the in-studio crew announcing the game was a misstep and you need to have the regular announcing (radio or tv) do the game instead and hopefully, they will going forward. And as I said on the podcast, the FAKE CROWD NOISE NEEDS TO BE GONE like yesterday. The games that have been shown that have the actual on-court sounds which incorporate the enthusiasm from the bench make it feel much better. 5) Hopefully, KCP will be OK after rolling an ankle and getting re-taped yesterday. Sometimes they feel worse the next day. I hope Alex Caruso will not continue to have back issues and Markieff can get on the court real soon. Overall it’s great to have the Lakers and the NBA back on the court once again.
Good points Gerald. While the NBA ‘crowd’ noise was silly it’s nowhere near as ridiculous as MLB. I was watching the Angels/A’s game and when Oakland was up in 10th with the gimmick runner at 2nd base to start the in-stadium audio loudly yelled ‘Let’s make some noise Oakland!” and they then proceeded to turn of the fake crowd noise a little louder. Actually elicited an audible chortle from me…
Let the game speak for itself.
P.S. The other thing I loved about the game was head coach Frank Vogel’s first substitution, which was Kyle Kuzma replacing JaVale McGee and Anthony Davis moving to center, which triggered the Lakers going on a 9-0 streak to pull into the 11 point lead they had when the first half ended.
I also thought JaVale played extremely well. I was a little worried about him due to his asthma but he looked good. I just think the matchups against the teams we’re going to have beat to win the championship are going to require the Lakers stretching defenses and spreading the floor with AD at the five. You could see LeBron attacking the rim in the second quarter with AD stretching the floor and nailing those threes. That’s a recipe the Lakers will need to deploy against the Bucks and Clippers.
Don’t need to have Davis banging against opposing centers in the paint either. Lakers actually used Kuzma and Dudley to guard the Porzingis and Boban with AD lurking as the help defender. I was a little concerned when Vogel announced earlier that he planned to deploy McGee and Howard in the playoffs like he did during the regular season. Good to see that at least in the first scrimmage, he limited the McGee/Howard minutes like he did in the weekend sweep of the Bucks and Clippers back in March.
Boban ate Dudley alive in the low post. He looks a lot more confident right now than earlier in the season. Maybe he was getting his John Wick whupping out of his system, lol.
When have you seen Dwight get blocked by a guy who didn’t even jump? LOL. Gotta love Boban!
Decent game. Glad to see Kuz hair back to normal, ha, ha. And LBJ need to cover that gray on the beard, ha, ha.
I would say decent first half, lol. Second half was just nice to see some young guys get some run, if Waiters has his legs (seems like he does) and nobody got hurt.
How about them Yankees, DJ. One hit pitching and Stanton and Judge hitting. Yankees could be on their way to 60-0.