5 THINGS

I’m not going to go so far as to say this game is blueprint-worthy in terms of mapping out a road to consistent success but it did show us a team with a lot of heart and showcased the overall depth and potential that Ham can use to get the job done on a nightly basis. While AD and LeBron featured prominently in the win (like they do), it was a lot more than just the superstar tandem that helped make the first win of the season and the first game at Crypto come out right.

1. The unheralded play of Cam Reddish and Christian Wood. Two dudes with more negative press than they probably deserve. Neither has the rep of defensive stopper, Wood has always been seen as a score-first (only?) player and Cam has been over-hyped at every stop along the way in his still young career. Neither one made a 3 pointer (combined 0-5, an onerous trend on a Laker team purported to have improved it’s three point shooting), nor did they score into the double digit range. Still, Cam had an impact on defense in the first half checking Durant and paving the way for what Wood helped do in the second half. Along with his 10 big rebounds Wood played some admirable defense on KD and got to the stripe despite the jumper not falling. These are the kind of things you need to do on this team, especially when three-point specialist Taurean Prince couldn’t buy a bucket all night long. When the scoring gets lean, turn to your defense.
2. The defense was pretty solid all night long. Other than the 3rd quarter where I thought we picked up a bad habit from last season (the legendary third quarter struggles we endured for 3/4 of the season regardless of who was on the team) we really turned it around as a team in the 4th quarter. We clamped down on the entire team as Phoenix scored 5 baskets in the final frame, four of those were by Durant. 5-20 in the 4th quarter is getting after it and getting it done, I don’t care that Booker and Beal were out. These are all pros, these guys can all hoop, and therefor that was some great team defense.
3. Going back to what works for this team under Coach Ham. Game 1 looked like what people want to see or think the Lakers should be: a team that shoots a lot of threes. We won last night by going back to the thing we’re best at: dominating the paint. There’s just no reason for the Lakers to shoot more than 30 three pointers in any game. Not unless a couple guys get hot and stay hot and that was definitely not the recipe last night. Instead the Lakers returned to their old friend the paint where they utterly dominated Phoenix to the tune of 60 to 36 fueled in part by a 16-6 edge in fastbreak points. Overall I thought our defense led to a ton of our offense, which is pretty much how this team is built to win. There may come a day when the lakers more resemble a modern NBA team with all the threes and such but I still have a hard time seeing this team play in that mode consistently and in a way that will generate wins.
4. 1st quarter malaise. Was it just me or was Crupto really, really quiet for like the first hour of the game. Did everyone get a 3rd quarter shot of tequila or something? Halftime espresso? At any rate, the Lakers woke Crypto up with a stellar 4th but come on people, you paid your money now get loud! In defense of the fans our overall effort in the first frame was not great, almost as bad as Phoenix’s play in the fourth. This is where I think the Lakers truly miss Jared Vanderbilt and his energy and effort. Prince wasn’t hitting his shots, LeBron was still easing into the game, AD was, too. That meant that, outside of our guard corp, there just wasn’t much to get pumped about.
5. Grand larceny. Another stat that jumped out to me was that almost every laker that played got at least one steal. Ironically only Wood and Reddish came up empty in the thievery department but made up for it with stellar defense. While we may not end up leading the league in steals or blocks it’s effort like this that will lead the way on D. There are some wrinkles to work out on offense (like getting Rui Hachimura going, maybe run some plays for the dude?) but if the defense shows up on a nightly basis we’ll be just fine.

Lakers have a couple days off before facing Sacramento (along with Ham’s three time outs to play with in the 4th, I’m pretty sure this factored into the logic of playing James over 30 minutes, as well). The Kings are looking to re-capture lightning in a bottle and, along with every other western conference team that’s played and won a solitary game, sits in a 6-way tie atop the conference in first place. The Lakers a re looking to continue their early winning ways and match their total wins through 12 games last season in game 3.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Nobody bossing Denver around, and that was before some onerous calls by the refs to kick off the season. Mile high altitude must mess with them, too. The truth is the Lakers simply didn’t execute well enough to beat poised and polished Nuggets squad. Some had hoped that the departure of a few key players might reveal a wrinkle or weakness. When you have Jokic and Murray, the rest is pretty much gravy.

1. Let’s get something straight about the Nuggets. When healthy and engaged I’m not sure there’s a team that has enough firepower, skill and chemistry to beat them. Especially in Denver. Losing a couple guys won’t change a thing when the guy who made them better, Jokic, is still suiting up for the team Colorado. The Timberwolves, with the defensive aplomb of Gobert especially, have the best matchups. For us to win, or most teams for that matter, you have to win the small battles: rebounds, points i the paint, free throws, and keep your turnovers down. Too often our turnovers, which were pretty low all things concerned, led to easy buckets when we didn’t do a great job getting back. That won’t cut it against the Nuggets, not anymore.
2. The mysterious case of the here one half, gone the next Anthony Davis. That didn’t take too long… What has long been my, and many other lakers fans, biggest knock against AD is his ability to vanish when we need to shine brightest. It’s just not in his DNA, not everyone can be like a Kobe or leBron or Magic. Once again, with the Lakers needing more, AD, he seemed to wilt into the floor against a double team scheme. I long ago gave up on hoping for AD to play more like __________ player who was born with the clutch gene. It’s just not in him, not on an every game basis. He played really well on defense bt we need him to be a consistent threat for 4 quarters on both ends for this to have a shred of hope in ending with another banner. It’s just that simple.
3. Their guards outplayed our guards. Yeah some calls maybe didn’t go our way but our starting guards also missed a lot of wide open shots. With big money comes big expectations. D Lo and Reaves both signed lucrative extensions and need to be better hitting the open shots this offense is certain to generate on a nightly basis. Other than Vincent, and for a short burst Cam Reddish, we didn’t get all that much out of any guards against the Nuggets while KCP and Murray went off on us all game long.
4. Prince’s shooting kept us in the game. While he often looked a little lost on D and was as guilty as any Laker of not getting back, Prince showcased his shooting and that’s a bright spot going forward. Were it not for his efforts from three this game would have been a true blowout.
5. LeBron looked smooth and I approve of the minutes limit. This is what comes with relying so very much ona 39 year old. if the first game of the season told me anything it’s that our depth still needs to do a better job rising to the task at hand or those LeBron minutes are going to creep up, up, up and I fear that will result in what could be a borderline career-ending injury. While difficult to watch, especially in the 4th as we saw the game start to slip away when AD couldn’t get it going, this is the correct blueprint for handling a 39 year hoops savant. He cannot play 35+ mpg, we need to keep it around 30, save for overtime games. This is why the legendary Laker Tom Load management Plan needs to happen more than it did last season: hit ’em hard, hit ’em early, blow ’em out, rest your key guys down the stretch while the bench mops up.

A lot was made of the “Who’s your daddy” chant. That, my friends, is a bonafide sign of fear, loathing and respect. Add it to the “Beat LA” chant as another feather in the cap of how the Lakers can uniquely annoy and inspire vitriol in another big city. Kind of big, well…not really. Guess Michael Malone ain’t the only one worried about the lakers more than any other team.

While it shouldn’t, these sort of things matter. At least in Laker Land they do. Generally a fanbase is pretty blase’ about their respective teams’ W/L record during camp and preseason. Lakers fans need look back to just over a decade ago when Mike “The Notebook” Brown wen’t 0-fer in the preseason which bled into the regular season and he was subsequently canned. So, in a way, it’s a relief that the first “win” is out of the way, however meaningless it truly happens to be. Which brings us to the Lakers/Nets game last night, let’s dig in.

1. The brave new world of the made three pointer. The Lakers shot the three ball well with the group they started with (D-Lo, Reaves, Prince, james and AD) at 13-23 (good for 56%). While I don’t expect Prince to start games (mainly because he is a fouling machine out there…) it was nice to see the offense operate as a well-oiled machine. Overall the bench was a little more off the mark (7 of 32 aka 21%) which led us to an overall 36ish% from beyond the arc and, in particular, the rookies struggled mightily. All in all, a fairly promising showing in that department. Still, i was glad that Coach Ham went out of his way to mention that living and loving the paint are the bread and butter of the team.
2. The elusive 5th starter. Prince was a surprise for many (but really all one had to do was look at the injury report and see that Vando was sitting out due to heel soreness along with Cam who had a sore ankle). Some may clamor to start Rui but I don’t see that happening, at least not out of the gate this season. It feels like Vando’s job to lose at this point. I base that on the following observations: Prince is a fouling machine on defense which means his role will have extreme limits on this team, yes he made some threes last night. Won’t move the Ham Needle, or mine. Rui makes so much sense off the bench. He can backup three different positions against most opponents: either forward and center. Vando can set a tone, try and lock down the other team’s best scorer, and I believe he can make enough threes to help keep the defense a little more honest.
3. LeBron and Reaves debut. Reaves has been eased into the season after his lengthy stint with USA basketball. He didn’t look like he missed a beat last night making the kind of smart, smooth plays we’ve become accustomed to. LeBron looked like an elder statesman easing his way into the season. That’s fine and frankly it’s exactly what he should be doing. I won’t be surprised if both players miss the next game, or at least LeBron. In general, the first rule of preseason is get everyone out healthy.
4. AD looks locked in. Everything is working right now for the Lakers cog. AD is the essential gear that makes this whole machine work. If he’s on, we hum. When he’s off, we grind and skid. His defense last night was superb, highlighted by 3 blocks. he shot with confidence and determination, not nearly as much waffling when he got the ball. This kind of showing needs to be his status quo, his modus operandi for the entire season.
5. Laker Kids nearly coughed it up. Which wouldn’t have mattered all that much…except because they didn’t it can prove to be a valuable learning step and a confidence booster, as well. Nothing has really changed my perception that Max will be the only Laker Kid with a role of significance, if we need any of the others it means somebody is hurt. JHS and Hodges both struggled mightily with their shot and that unit couldn’t defend a rock stuck in cement but they gritted it out, which is admirable.

Honorable mention goes to Lonnie Walker the iVth who looked like he had one thing on his mind: Beat LA.Also, that Ben Simmons dude played Cool. Hope he’s right top to bottom, inside and out.

And so it begins…again. We have a new (but mostly the same) team! As summer turns to fall and the leaves, well, don’t do much of anything around here that is the time when folks round LA know that hoops is-a-comin! In what can only be described as about face for the current Laker front office, the Lakers prioritized continuity and chemistry over replacing role players with bigger names. A change this fan has been advocating for for awhile. Today we’ll be looking at the 5 Things I think will make the biggest impact on the upcoming season.

1. The health of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. As always this issue takes center stage. Honestly, everything else after this could be considered filler but we’ll keep it to point #1, anyhow. AD has been saying the same things he says every training camp. Feels good, worked out all summer, body is in a good place, etc. LeBron James was far more coy about what he did this summer (other than deal with Bronny James’ unfortunate heart attack scare). Did he get surgery? Consult a shaman? Get a bionic foot? Mum’s the word from Camp James and thus fans amedia heads are with naught but speculation and theory. While not surprising it is a little disappointing given how much of the team success rides on his shoulders. Still, I respect LeBron wanting to keep details of things private. He’s got more than enough limelight. In the case of AD my hope is that a combination of playing a little less at the 5, having more versatile depth around him in the form of Hayes and Wood, and a small dose of better luck when it comes to contact-induced injuries will be the remedy. AD ain’t all that old, but he seems to go down like a fighter on the take every time someone brushes him. We need him on the floor, competing in 65+ games for all those cool awards he says he aspires to if we want to avoid the same scenario we’ve encountered in season’s past: poor regular season record meaning we need to go through the playin (or miss the playoffs altogether). So, to all of that, I don’t much give a fig how much LeBron or AD plays in preseason. If they play enough for the coaches to evaluate what they need to to get the season rolling, that’s good by me.
2. The elusive 5th starter. Ham has been coy and rolled regarding who the 5th starter could/will be. If he is to be taken at face value he already knows but is keeping it a secret! I think they’re actually going to use the preseason to get a better grip on how they want the team to play off the jump and how they hope they can finish before the final horn sounds. My guess is that it’s Jarred Vanderbilt’s gig to lose. He wa such an integral part of the stretch that got us into the playin and, up until midway through the series with Golden State, looked like the perfect compliment to James and Davis in the front court. The playoffs, like they do for many players (especially younger ones like Vando who is only 24!), reveal weaknesses in the overall game. That’s not a knock, that’s what cranking up the level and intensity of competition does. Jarred’s proved to be scoring under pressure when open both inside and out. Split second hesitations under the rim can be doom in the playoffs, just ask Ben Simmons, and missing wide open threes can be a reputation killer. Just ask ben Simmons. Vando was often tasked with guarding top scorers, often guards, and making their life Hell while continuing to bring the energy and impact he had on offense. That proved to be a task beyond him last May in the western conference finals. I was happy to see JV taking and making open three point shots in the first preseason game, this was a good start to what is basically a security season for Vanderbilt. He can’t be traded for 6 months from when he signed his extension which falls after the trading deadline. So he has, essentially, a no-trade clause for the season. Hopefully this offers him the kind of comfort that comes from knowing where home is gonna be for awhile and that the Lakers, as an organization, see him as more than just some numbers to help fill salary for a trade. Close on Vando’s heels would be Rui Hachimura but I still see his role as being the first, best player off the bench and spot-starting for LeBron on load management days. Same thing for Christian Wood. I suppose Jaxon Hayes is still in the mix but, if we’re being honest, we want to see a defensive tone set from the start and that has Mandolorian written all over it.
3. Scorers not named Davis or James. Two guys have the greatest impact on scoring for the Lakers but this team is a lot bigger than just 2 guys now. D’Angelo Russell, with a new extension and a waived no-trade clause so he could both secure more guaranteed money and give the Lakers options later on in the season, should be next on the scoring list, in my opinion. We saw Russell end up deferring more and more as the season and playoffs wore on, we need him to be a lot more assertive consistently for us to get where we need to go. A lot of media pundits and fans already have D-Lo penciled as “out of town-trade bait” for this season. I’m not one of them, I can see D-Lo hitting a comfort zone where he uses the gravity of LeBron and AD along with maybe a little two-man game with Wood to free himself up for slithering drives to the rim and off the dribble jumpers. He looks a little bigger, hopefully that lets him finish even better at the rim. His jumper is smooth, always has been. He’s making better and better reads and training camp is where they can work out some sets for him to rock in. Next up, for me anyhow, is a dead tie between Rui and Reaves. If he comes off the bench I have a hunch Rui could be in the mix for Sixth Man of the Year. Feels like the benchmarks are 15+ ppg, 8+ rpg, 3+ apg and in a limited role…but not too limited. Those numbers can be bumped up and lowered but that’s my rough guess for what it will take to be in the convo. If Hachimura can average 20+ ppg off the bench with some decent splits and impact numbers in other areas he might run away with the award. I think we won’t see a huge stat bump from Reaves but we will see an increase across the board and with the same level of efficiency in all things. As in pretty much all our categories Wood is a big dark horse that could find his way into all these convos if he plays well on both ends.
4. Which youngster might find a larger role than anticipated? While I think JHS has what it takes to be an NBA-level rotation player i also tend to think he needs a year of G-league reps to get better acclimated. This team just doesn’t have a lot of minutes for in-game growth. Max Christie will likely be the best young player and has been turning heads in camp and was the best player off the bench in preseason game 1. With Cam Reddish already dropping a donut things can only look up for the over-hyped, under-delivering wing and he’s going to feel the heat on his heels from young Max. It’s not that I don’t want Reddish to succeed, I just think Christie is better prepared to take advantage of this moment as he’s both Cam’s equal (if not better) on the court but without the baggage of expectation or history. Plus he’s a guard, where we’re already thin. He’s going to at least get a shot early on, I think, and they’ll turn to Cam if/when Max hits a wall.
5. The Christian Wood Conundrum. Like Reddish I’m not actively rooting against the guy, I just have very low expectations of the return on the Lakers’ investment on this particular project. Like Reddish, Wood comes with baggage. Which is putting it mildly. Cam’s baggage comes in the form of expectation based off his hype/what he’s delivered to date equation. Wood has delivered, at least on offense. It’s what he does, or more specifically what he doesn’t do, on the other end that seems to drive his narrative at this point. A lot of folks are framing this as Wood’s last, best chance at being an impact NBA player and that’s not being hyperbolic. Consider the case of the better in every facet of the game Demarcus “Boogie” Cousins. Despite injuries to his legs Cousins has shown he can be an impact player off the bench and, despite sorely needing some form of stability in order to get his feet back under him has been bounced off of every team he played for after the season ended and is now, essentially, out of the league. Wood ain’t got half of what Boogie could do when he was healthy and even limited as he ended up becoming my feeling is Boogie would still give Wood a run for his money today. So Wood has a lot of stigma to overcome this season but he’s got all the tools and the right environment to do just that. If he chooses to.

All in all this is a redemption season for a lot of Lakers. Last season was about trying to outplay the narrative that Russell Westbrook and LeBron and AD couldn’t work. It never happened and Rob’s masterful wheeling and dealing at the deadline breathed new life both into last season but the Laker’s future, as well. Because multiple teams basically considered Vando an after-thought he landed in our laps as a throw-in. Reaves and hos agent doubled-down on Austin’s talent again and again and it’s paying off. Big. The work he’s done and his self-confidence have put him in a great position for an undrafted (even if that situation was in many ways self-created). Guys like Prince, Wood and Reddish are hoping to dramatically change the narrative of their respective careers and thus their potential earning power over the next couple of seasons. The biggest point of redemption is the health and availability of our two superstars, can LeBron and AD play in enough games for the Lakers to be truly relevant this season and beyond? Lots could break right and lots could break wrong. Only way to find out is to get through training camp and preseason as healthily as possible. Lets get to it.