After a preseason last year in which the vibes were awful, the Lakers head into this preseason in need of much improvement. @LakersSBN https://t.co/nrwOqLvQMG
— SB Nation NBA (Click the pic to read đź”˝) (@SBNationNBA) October 3, 2022
Last season, the Lakers navigated through the preseason by losing every game and having rather bad vibes throughout the way. In hindsight, it was an ominous start to a doomed season, one that foreshadowed the struggles with injuries and inability to get wins.
On this week’s episode of “Can U Dig It,” a podcast by the Silver Screen & Roll network, Honi Ahmadian and I preview the start of the preseason schedule with Monday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. Before we talk any of that, though, I welcome Honi as the new co-host of the podcast ahead of what will certainly be another interesting season for the Lakers.
That intrigue comes as a result of the Lakers feeling like an incomplete team with a Russell Westbrook trade still not having been made. The Lakers have put talks on hold for a deal despite the possibility of a trade with the Indiana Pacers still seemingly being an option.
Perhaps because of that and perhaps because of how things played out last year, it’s been hard to get excited about the Lakers so far during training camp. Even with a new-look lineup and practice footage from the weekend, the excitement and anticipation feels muted.
What’s to get excited about – a play-in team that’s just getting worse as their leader gets older? Pass on that. TEAR IT DOWN!
Not that I disagree just that I don’t see it happening. Maybe if we have another garbage season but I think even in the event we suck they’ll place all hope in winning free agency next summer.
We were already stinking up the joint this time last year and the stankiness permeated the entire season. Gotta take it seriously and develop good habits from the outset. Watching this PHX game right now and their starters played deep into the 3rd quarter. Looking at some box scores and quite a few teams are playing their stars 20+ minutes. I’d like to see us hit the ground running…
I remember we’ll all the many, many “it’s only preseason!” And “it’s just one game!” Articles and posts we got. Hope we all take preseason a lot more seriously this time around.