5 Things: Preseason Takeaways

And so with less fanfare than it began, the preseason has concluded. With a loss to the Phoenix Suns the lakers finished the preseason with a 2-4 record. This should concern nobody because there were times when this team flashed some dominant potential. The main goal, which is always get everyone through preseason healthy, may have come up a little bit short but our key guys look good and are healthy so all in and all an unqualified success. Let’s dig in.

1. Anthony Davis looks to be in regular season form. I’m curious to see how a more regular role (by that I mean playing in the 4th quarter) impacts his on-court play but there’s no denying AD is entering the season already in beast mode. The defense is on point, he’s the focal point of the offense, and he’s doing it as smoothly as I’ve seen him play in a long time. Whether this is a result of knowing he’s the first option and not semi-deferring or a byproduct of an off season change I don’t much care. If this version of AD can play at this level for 30+ mpg he’ll be in all the conversations: MVP, DPOY, Most Improved (ok maybe not that one). We’ll also have a decent record and if few other players hit (other than LeBron) we’ll slide right into the playoffs at 4 or 5, maybe higher if some other teams stumble out of the gate. AD is the way now, all hail AD.
2. LeBron James is moving fluidly. Honestly the only thing I’ve been really watching during preseason other than how some of the new guys play in the mix is how LeBron moves. He looks good and so whatever Mad Scientist he took his foot to has some good vibes coming his way from all of Laker nation. While not blowing me away with his explosiveness he generally doesn’t until well into November, early December as he works his body into game-shape. At 39 I’m willing to give him all the way until March as I’d rather he ease his way along rather than go down and have to rehab, or worse get surgery. While it does feel like a little less hinges on LeBron’s impact this season there’s no denying his impact come playoff time.
3. The Holdovers. I’m talking Reaves, Hachimura, Vanderbilt and Russell. Mixed results, in my opinion. That’s to be expected in talent that resides squarely in the “above-average” tier of the NBA. Consistency is the hallmark of super stardom, none of these guys are knocking on that door with really only Russell and Reaves even having the potential to do so (mostly Russell). Still, when Reaves has played he’s looked exactly like where he left off and still not playing all that much point. Still mostly functioning off-ball to start possessions. Hachimura looks more like regular season Rui and not playoff knight of death Rui and, while unfortunate, not surprising. Some guys can’t manufacture the other gear without the situation demanding it of them. I’m not worried about him though, he’s got his new deal, we know he can rise to the occasion and so if his midseason play isn’t all we hoped for the team has the depth to mitigate that. Vando looked great in his first game and has been sidelined by a heel injury ever since. Same goes here, no need to rush back as that’s what the depth we accumulated this offseason is for. Russell is the only one I expected a little more out of and the returns have also been mixed. There is a point in which the hype hits the ceiling and D-Lo may have reached that point. I understand deferring to AD but he really needs to force himself into the third option role on this team for us to have lasting success.
4. The New Guys. That would be Prince, Vincent, Wood and Hayes. I would say “pretty much as advertised” to a man. Prince has slowed down his foul-a-minute defense and that’s enabled him to fill in for Vando but the argument that his shooting brings more to the table than Vando’s defense isn’t a strong one. I don’t see Prince as commanding a defender to stay on him like other sharp-shooters, he’s just a solid release valve and that’s fine. Vincent, cut from the same cloth as Schroder before him, is a solid backup. Won’t ‘wow’ you on any given night but does his job as well as can be expected. Wood and Hayes will battle for a role and it will basically come down to defense. I had hoped to see one of them run away with the chance to be the starting center but they both measure up to specialist back up center. hayes as the better rim runner, Woods as the better shooter, but neither of them did enough for me to advocate starting them over wither Prince or Vando. Honestly, since the start of camp I’ve though the last starting spot was Vando’s to lose and nothing the other guys did while he was out changed my mind. I didn’t list Reddish here because the dude is clearly a major project with time running out for him to figure it out if he wants to earn a paycheck larger than the vet minimum in any given season.
5. Has Ham really changed up his coaching? A little. The five out sets are there, at least to start possessions, but we generally resort back to the comfort zones of AD and LBJ which is ball in hand face up/back to the basket/make a move. The defense looks a little tighter out of the gate than last season, thanks largely to D-Lo’s improved focus and AD coming into camp with something to prove, and I expect that to get even better after a couple of weeks of settling into some rotations. So, while it’s hard for to endorse the idea that Coach ham has changed a lot of his integral philosophies, I can say he’s refined his approach to using them with the players on the roster. I’d still like to see us utilize plays that get specialist players their pet shots, that goes for guys like Wood and Prince. It drives me a little bonkers when we just stash those guys in the corner and hope they make a shot. In the same vein I’d like to see Wood and Hayes involved in more P&R near the top of the key with D-LO, Reaves and Vincent. Letting the defense dictate the action won’t cut it when the player with the ball isn’t LeBron or AD, not everyone can just “take what the defense gives them” and one of the hallmarks of a great coach is making mid-tier players better by using actions that benefit their skill set. Again, some of this might be preseason issues and things will get more intricate as the season wears on, but I’d like to see some synergy starting to develop akin to what we’ve seen evolve in places like Miami and Golden State.

All in all, color me pleased. Sure Max Christie could have silenced his doubters and seized the backup 2 guard role (he didn’t), of course Vando could have probably played last night and given us one more preseaon glimpse of what that line up could look like (does it really matter in preseason??? no) but LeBron and AD got through it all healthy, Reaves was eased into everything after his long summer, and everyone who was here last season looks reasonably ready to pick up where they left off. While there may still be some growing pains I’m pretty stoked about the potential of this season and looking forward to opening night against the champs.

Go Lakers.