5 Things: Preseason

We should all go back and look at what we posted and wrote about preseason last summer. What many considered to be a non-factor, essentially an obstacle to the regular season and the forthcoming romp through the regular season en route to the playoffs, turned out to be a harbinger of doom. The Lakers loafed through preseason and showed everyone they weren’t done. Loafing, that is. They proceeded to loaf their way through the regular season and right out of the playoff and subsequently playin picture altogether. The casualties of that loafing about were basically relegated to one man: Frank Vogel. The coach has been the biggest change from last year to this. Out is coach Vogel, in is coach Ham. The fringes of the roster changed as well. Other than that, not all that much changed for the Lakers which means the biggest thing that has to change for success to be enabled is the attitude of the players themselves.

1. Respect what preseason is for. A good or bad preseason doesn’t guarantee a good season nor does it doom a team to a bad one. But it does have it’s place in a complete NBA season and it is an important one. It’s where the foundation of what the team can accomplish is laid down. It’s where habits, good and bad are formed. It’s where somebody hoping to make the team can get a shot to show what they can do with an expanded role or next to elite players. It’s where a guy who worked on a deficiency all summer can test it out in a NBA-level environment, not just in the gym. For vets it’s a tune up, especially for a vet like LeBron whom there are no more questions about is he or is he not prepared. He is. I don’t need to see the Lakers win out during preseason or play the Trio big minutes but I do want to see it used properly, unlike last season.
2. Move on from the summer. This one applies to, well, all of us. The team, the fans, and especially the media. Everyone was so invested in what a Russell Westbrook could look like they never imagined, or seemingly planned for, a reality where Westbrook was still a Laker today. He is and likely will be until closer to February and possibly the entire season. Since we have his Bird Rights it shouldn’t be inconceivable he re-ups with us, all things considered. Whatever happens in that scenario it’s well past time we all just moved on. If a trade happens we’ll see who it’s for and recalibrate but I’m not giving anymore “OMG WHAT ABOUT THIS TRADE?!?!” articles or posts the time of day from here on out. Not until January 2023. For all intents and purposes, this is the Laker team and I’m rolling and rooting from them. Like I do.
3. Stay healthy. The absolute #1 goal of any preseason in all sport is for the team to get through it as healthy and intact as possible. This then reapplies to the regular season and once again for the playoffs. Rinse, wash repeat, as they say. For the Lakers this has a double-edge to it, though. We need to see Russ, AD and LeBron get reps with the new guys. They need it, the new guys need it, and it was one of the biggest aspects of last preseason that doomed the regular season so completely. We need to find that balance and get everyone some time on the floor together. Mini camp in San Diego ain’t enough.
4. Buy in to the new coach. Everyone is saying all the right things. It’s what this time of year is for: paying lip service to all the great moves, the new things the coach wants and so on. In fact, we heard the exact same words coming out of people’s mouths this time last season, too. We need more than lip service and glad handing. We need buy in and it needs to show itself on the floor. Saying and doing are vastly different and nothing proved that more than the Lakers 2021-22 NBA regular season. It wasn’t until a few vets got real in post game comments after it was much too late to do anything about it that you heard that if the other team just played harder they would beat the Lakers. Unacceptable and inexcusable. Coach Vogel was a patsy, a fall guy if you will, for an entire organization’s failures from the owner to the last player on the bench. That cannot happen again.
5. Have fun. Given the somber summer we just went through, the drudgery that was last season, and the fact that Father Time is undefeated it would be easy to mope into the season. Don’t fall prey to that trap, this is sport, it’s a game, the players are all pretty good at playing it they just need to make it work as a cohesive unit. Go out there and have fun, smile, nothing erases bad memories like good new ones so let that be the thing that guides you into the regular season from here on out. That’s another one that goes for everyone, fans and team alike. No NBA roster is perfect, stop worrying about making the perfect trade, listen to the vets and coaches and just go hoop man!
   
   We’ll learn a few things about this Laker team tonight and more as preseason moves on. Hoping for a lot of good things tonight but mostly just to see how competitive we can be and for everyone to get through healthy. Go Lakers.