Aloha,
Well we saw the way will have to play to win last night. We had a great defensive effort, played with energy and had this never give up attitude, while this team doesn’t have great shooters, the guys we do have are not this bad. I doubt we will see many games where, PatBev, Westbrook and Nunn go for a combined 1 for 17. Our first unit won again by 17. Although Kawhi came off the bench, which helped our first unit and helped the Clippers second unit.
Our first two games have come against arguably the two best teams in the west and the effort we have displayed will lead to wins against lesser squads. That said, it also demonstrated how far away from true contenders this team is. You just had to look at the stream of long forwards with size that the Clippers trotted out there to understand that we have a size issue on the wing.
I’m hoping AD is okay. Again he had another tumble. Yes it was something that happens in basketball but the guy seems to draw these mishaps like a magnet. If there is a definition of typical basketball injury, AD’s picture is next to it. He does look ready to dominate at the five. But can he stay on the floor.
Westbrook could not make anything. The only thing that gave me some hope is, this is the most effort I have seen him give on the defensive end since he became a Laker. He is not a good shooter but again he is not that bad.
Walker IV was really good on both ends of the floor. We saw the upside that the Lakers see in him and perhaps they were right in giving him the MLE. Still he has flashed potential his entire career so far, can he be consistent.
Wish Austin would look to score some. We need him to shoot.
I am so impressed with coach Ham. He certainly was the right hire. Still, After watching these first two games our lack of shooting and size on the wing is glaring. I knew those would be issues but these games have underlined them in red. I believe any trade should focus on those deficiencies. I still would not give up two unprotected picks in a trade. It really would need to be for a star player to even consider it. Simply stated. There could be trades out there, but it’s hard for me to imagine a trade that would elevate this group into the top 4 or 5 in the west and certainly not up to the level where the Warriors and Clippers reside. Trading away those unprotected picks would be a waste. I had us losing the first too, let’s see what happens next.
Defense looked as good as it has since Vogel post banner. I thought LW4 took a looooot of shots to get those points and we need a lot more from everyone on the bench. Season theme: bench lacking woefully and that’s with Nunn (who I think is best coming off the bench lol)