Jerry West, the Los Angeles Lakers and a simmering 20-year feud https://t.co/6KS70n0DWc pic.twitter.com/0OAZC9vwfS

— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) October 10, 2024

NBA GMs have no idea what to expect of the Lakers this season https://t.co/FKmLiOUGVU

— LakerTom (@LakerTom) October 10, 2024

A tradition unlike any other, the yearly piece put together by John Schuhmann of NBA.com surveying all 30 NBA general managers on a number of topics related to the league is out.

The Lakers are mentioned throughout the survey in ways that will please and anger fans. The most interesting aspect of the survey is that 17% of GMs said the Lakers were the team whose level of success this season is toughest to predict.

The Lakers garnered the most votes on this subject, with the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans tied for second at 13% each.

Why the Lakers are hard to predict likely has to do with how their last two seasons ended.

The 2023-24 campaign finished as expected for a play-in team. They lost in the first round to the Denver Nuggets, a higher-seed team.

However, the 2022-23 season ended with the Lakers reaching the Western Conference Finals and while much has changed between that version of the Lakers and the 2024-25 one, what hasn’t is that the two best players on the team are still LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

They are still All-NBA players and anyone who watched them represent Team USA at the Olympics and win gold can attest that they are still good enough to win it all.

With a new coach in JJ Redick and maintaining a core that won 47 games, is it out of the realm of possibility that they win 50-plus games and are contenders in a Western Conference that has seen many shakeups to the best teams from last year?

Sure, you might be surprised if the Lakers ended the year a top-four seed in the West, but you wouldn’t be shocked.

Lakers' Austin Reaves turning his most glaring weakness into a potential strength https://t.co/65DwZp4yIo

— LakerTom (@LakerTom) October 10, 2024

According to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times, Lakers head coach JJ Redick praised Reaves for his effort and IQ on the defensive end of the floor.

“I never thought he was a chump defensively, but he competes his ass off on that end,” Redick said after the Lakers’ practice Tuesday. “He knows what he’s supposed to do. He’s in the right spots. If he’s supposed to veer, he veers. If he’s supposed to be the low man, he’s the low man. If he’s supposed to be at the nail, he’s at the nail. He just does a lot of really good things on the basketball floor.”

Reaves is one of the most dynamic young playmakers in the NBA, but improvement on defense will be the key to unlocking his and the team’s full potential.

Shams debuts on ESPN and breaks that the Lakers will likely play Lebron & Bronny together on opening night vs Minnesota.

Also adds that JJ Redick has buy-in from Bron & AD along with the rest of the players bc he “eats, lives and digests basketball” pic.twitter.com/NvKnPbjcKa

— 🏆LakersGuru🏆 (@GuruLakers) October 10, 2024

Key takeaways from Lakers preseason game against Suns https://t.co/oeO5qUH3YS

— LakerTom (@LakerTom) October 8, 2024

Let’s explore the key takeaways from L.A.’s preseason matchup versus the Suns.

Offense

Redick has made it clear that he envisions Anthony Davis as the “hub” of the Lakers’ offense. During Sunday’s preseason game, Redick revealed some of the new actions he’s implemented.

In the 2023-24 season, Davis averaged 8.9 paint touches per game — nearly double his elbow touches — primarily working out of the post or scoring off dives and rolls to the rim. However, against the Suns, he dominated the ball from the top of the key. Davis showcased his midrange jumper, attacked seams in the defense with drives to the basket and, most importantly, acted as a playmaker, finding James, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura on cuts to the rack. Davis finished with an efficient 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting along with three assists, leading to a game-high +15 rating.

In a notable shift from last season, it appears that Redick might plan to utilize Reaves as the Lakers’ primary point guard over D’Angelo Russell. In the 2023-24 season under Darvin Ham, Russell typically brought the ball up the court and initiated the offense, but in L.A.’s first two preseason games, Reaves has taken on that responsibility more frequently. He led the team with seven assists in Friday’s game against the Timberwolves and again topped the Lakers with seven dimes in their matchup with the Suns.

Defense

There haven’t been many noticeable defensive adjustments in the Lakers’ first two preseason games. On Sunday, with L.A.’s full starting lineup on the floor in the first half, Davis continued to play drop coverage, similar to last year. He prioritized protecting the paint against drives to the rim rather than jumping out on perimeter shooters.

In 2023-24, the Lakers ranked 19th in the NBA in opponents’ offensive rebounding, an area Redick has emphasized during the preseason. L.A.’s new head coach has gone on record stating that he wants Hachimura to be more active on the boards, limiting second and third chances for opposing squads. So far, Hachimura appears to have taken the message to heart, showing noticeable improvement on the defensive glass by grabbing a team-high eight rebounds in Sunday’s game.