5 Things: So it begins…

We’re here, the day when all the theories become practice, where the paper team takes the floor in the flesh, and when the game start counting. Tonight the Lakers face the Golden State Warriors but the real question a lot of Lakers fans want answered don’t stem from whom the Lakers are playing but rather whom the Lakers are playing at what positions and when. While opinions and notions fly around the internet only one man’s thoughts matter on this and that man is Frank Paul Vogel.

1. Will AD start or at least play the majority of his minutes at the center position? I think so, but it’s a slight majority. While some took the now legendary Marc Stein newsletter as gospel for the the future, I took it as a theoretical blueprint or framework for how the playoff version of the Lakers will look. I still am of the opinion that, no matter what AD or LeBron says/thinks, Frank trots out his regular season line ups with an eye towards reducing the physical toll and load so as to better save their legs for when the games take on a whole new meaning. With the Warriors on the schedule and seeing Looney in the line up for the Dubs it throws the door open wide for Frank to counter with DeAndre Jordan to start. In terms of a purely strategic discussion there are some valid points on starting DeAndre or Dwight, my preference is Dwight but Vogel’s on record saying he wants Dwight to abuse second stringers like he did for us 2 seasons ago. First off is foul trouble, because we are limited in the size department (long, but not big…not the same thing and both have their uses) keeping AD out of foul trouble is vital. Being forced to play Jordan or Dwight major minutes is not a recipe for success. The other point I consider valid is Ad’s off-ball defensive chops, which are elite. He has excelled as the weak side shot-blocker and being able to rotate around on the perimeter knowing that there is a viable shot blocker behind him. These points don’t overcome the positives that AD at the 5 bring to the table overall, but knowing Frank’s penchant for the defensive side they loom larger.
2. The Lakers didn’t complete the ultimate goal of preseason: get through it healthy. We’re all sorts of banged up with, as of now, THT, Trevor Ariza and Wayne Ellington listed as being out and Kendrick Nunn and Malik Monk are listed as day-to-day. While those names don’t shake the Earth like LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis do for a Lakers team that added 9 new faces and overhauled it’s offensive approach missing anyone who figured on being a key part of the rotation is a fairly large obstacle. It didn’t take a genius to see that during preseason the Lakers weren’t just getting acclimated to each other but also to a new way of doing things. This was later confirmed by the coaches when it was revealed the Lakers overhauled their offensive system (which wasn’t much to speak of). Further complicating things for the Lakers dream scenario of seeing more AD at the 5 are the injuries to THT and Ariza both of whom can guard a size up when called upon. With no other real power forwards on the team except for Lebron or Melo the Lakers lack mobile big bodies to deploy to shore up these missing players.
3. The Lakers brought in a lot of three point specialists, they’re making about the same amount of three so far and the team is taking about as many as they did last year. Like a lot of the lofty notions bandied about I didn’t buy into the “we need to up our volume of 3 point FGA!!!!” one much, either. If we shoot 30-35 three pointers/game I’ll be fine with that volume of attempts, we’re a team designed to excel in transition and in the paint. It would be worrying to me if we averaged more than 40 three point attempts/game as it would likely mean we’re settling or unable to generate off-ball action. I continue to think we need to work on how we generate higher quality three point looks. Solely relying on Russ or LeBron to set them up with paint attacks is fine, it’s worked for both guys for a long time. But I think the guys we brought in also have unique and individual ways they can get that shot off and, for some of them, especially out of time outs. This may have already occurred, we haven’t seen us in a situation yet where we needed a three off an inbounds play and Frank wouldn’t tip his hand yet, either. The quality of the shots still has a lot of room to improve, in my opinion, if they’re falling on a given night then take more.
4. The new faces are acclimating OK. I have a lot of mixed reviews about all of the new guys. It’s safe to say they’ve all had a good showing, a clunker and a game where they had very little impact. The age of our bench is a worry and it didn’t get younger with the addition of old newcomer Avery Bradley, although I am a big fan of his overall impact to our team defense. In preseason we saw the on and off versions of all the key role-players and the “off” side is kind of frightening. It looks like a matador on defense and a bad shot on offense. It has no cohesion or identity as it usually occurs when Russ is on the floor and LeBron is on the bench. Russ has the most to integrate of any of the guys on the team and it showed in preseason. My hope is that in 10, maybe 15, games Russ will have it in his head where the ball needs to go when he passes it and the other guys will know to be in that spot. Too many completely unforced turnovers sunk us both last season and in the preseason and a lot of that is on LeBron and Russ as they are the primary initiators. If we can weather an early storm of sloppiness and be a couple games over .500 10 to 15 games in I think we’ll start to see a whole new look and get a more complete vibe from this squad.
5. “What about tonight’s game, don’t you even care Jamie?!?!?!” Yes, yes I do and I have it penciled in as an L. Steph and the Warriors look like they are in mid-season form, Jordan Poole is breaking out in a different way every night, and they’re ready to start winning basketball games right now. We still have as many questions as we did at the beginning of camp. So, with that in mind, I see us letting a close game get out of reach with some late-game defensive miscues that will make for some great fil sessions for the team to learn from and improve on. Our training camp is extended for another month, the rest of the NBA just doesn’t really care. At any rate, I still see this squad as 3ish seed with a top ten defense and top 15 offense. We just need to keep up with the pack until these guys can find some cohesion and put it all together…together.
   
   Go Lakers.