Aloha,

Expect these games to be Laker home games. I’ve been to Vegas for the pre-season and summer league and the arena is packed with Laker fans. It’s a definite advantage over the other teams competing.

Aloha,

On a night when we shot the worst percentage of the season, we caught a glimpse of what this team can become. We had 21 offensive rebounds, 11 steals and forced a total of 20 turnovers. Our size and length on the defensive end is going to be a problem for a lot teams moving forward.

Vando, Cam and Rui are all coming back from injury, but with AD as the defensive anchor once this group can gets a few games together, the size they represent will lead to more games like last night.

I understand that Beal is still out, but even with him, we match up very well with the Suns. They have no answer for LeBron and AD. They are also a relatively a small team that has difficulty with our long wings. They also do not have a point guard. Booker is a tremendous shooting guard but he couldn’t hold up against taller defenders that can stay with him. He just was unable to run the offense effectively.

While we are not a great shooting team, we are not that bad. It’s good to know that we can win on even the worst night with a smothering defense that will only get better as they have more reps together as a unit.

Aloha,

This was kind of a weird game. We dominated more than the score would indicate, even when we led by 18. We just missed a lot of easy shots. AD missed his first 6. All good looks. But in defense of the shooting, it has been a while since I saw so many in and outs or balls rolling around the rim. As Chick would say on his night, Heartbrrrreak.

Even though it took AD a while for his shots to fall, his campaign for DPOY rolled on. 5 more blocks to go with his 14 boards. And if there was a stat for altered shots he would lead in that stat as well. I know he would prefer the 4, but Darvin is a smart coach. He won’t do that. When someone is the best defensive center in the league, you don’t move him.

Max Christie is growing up before our eyes. The 3 for 3 from three was nice, but it’s on defense where he has shined. The last thing that comes to young NBA players is defense but Max at only 20 is way ahead of the curve. He is making a case for playing even after we are at full strength.

We saw playoff Austin for a quarter last night and that’s all we needed. 15 points in the quarter and a tremendous amount of energy on both sides of the ball is what drove our comeback and win. Now if he can just start making his 3’s.

Speaking of 3’s, Prince seems to have found his stroke again. He is 11 for 20 over his last 4 games. If the rest of our current players shoot as well as they have proven they can, we will be all right.

LeBron is playing amazing basketball in year 21. And that 360 spinning lay up was just ridiculous. But there are two areas I wish he could clean up. Turnovers have been a real problem this year. He had 5 of the teams 9 las night. Perhaps this an effect of aging, maybe his reflexes are not keeping up with his vision. But he makes a lot of WTF turnovers. He also needs to be shooting better than 69% from free throw line.

On a night he didn’t shoot well DLO did other things. He had 7 assists and 5 steals in 24 minutes. His D has been visibly better this year but last night he looked like a defensive stopper.

Vando came back last night. He played 14 minutes. While he didn’t score he played smothering D and had 4 boards. Paired with Cam who always seems to be everywhere on defense and AD allowing them to be even more aggressive, the skies the limit for this team.

Evidently they decided to hold Rui out one more game, even though he dressed. I think that was the right move. He didn’t even make the road trip after the surgery. It now gives him until Tuesday to find his rhythm.

I fear Wood might be out of the rotation soon. He only 11 minutes, most of that was in garbage time.
He is not a very good defender but his offense was supposed to make up for it. But with the exception of a couple of games that hasn’t happened. He is shooting 26% from 3 and only 46% overall which isn’t good for a big. If he is not going to score Hayes might end up getting the minutes when AD rests .And Rui can cover Lebron’s rest minutes.
Hopefully his shot will come around soon.

We have the Suns next and it’s huge that we will have both Vando and Cam available to throw at Booker and AD. When we play top heavy teams like the Suns the bench really becomes important. And with players back our bench will be stronger then it’s been all season.

Aloha,

We are getting 4 guys back today. Finally! It will be interesting how Darvin uses everyone. I do believe that eventually we could see Can and Vando starting together. But I’m curious to see if Darvin eases Vando in or if he throws him in the fire. Considering this is his first game and he has had no real practice time I think he will probably come off the bench.

It will probably look a little ragged for a few games but hopefully we can stay healthy and build that chemistry that’s been impossible to construct up to now.

Aloha,

It is not just the holiday season, it’s the season when the trade rumors start to flow. Of course no one really knows who teams are really interested in. There are so many people with agendas out there that it’s impossible to tell who a team covets. Per the rumors Buddy should have been a Laker, not Westbrook.

One thing I have heard is the Lakers are focused on internal development. And that may be closest to the truth. I mean I’m still waiting for our season to start. Vando hasn’t played yet and with every passing game it is apparent how much we miss his defense, hustle and rebounding.

We have only had 4 games that we were not missing at least 2 rotation players and we have had up to 5 rotation players out in a game. We were missing 4 the last game. With those 4 one could say that the 76er game would not have been a blow out.

When you have this many players in and out of the line up it becomes more than just missing a player. It is also impossible to build any kind of chemistry. I’m sure the Lakers didn’t have a lot of practices with Max starting and a bench of just Austin, Wood and Hayes.

Even with all the injuries, rebounding issues and inconsistent shooting we are 10 and 8. We are 2 games out of the 2nd seed and 3 1/2 out of the first. Two made shots would have given us two more wins. 4 made free throws would have given us another.

It looks like we may get everyone except Vincent back within the next week. Our depth has allowed us to hang in there. The Piston game normally would make me nervous. Teams can let up against really bad teams but after the 76er humiliation I don’t believe that will happen. Cam is probable which will help. OKC will be a big challenge on the 2nd night of a back to back. But even if we are 2-2 under these circumstances on this road trip I won’t be discouraged. Our season will be starting soon.

Aloha,

The Lakers reminded us yet again why it’s a bad idea to be down by 20 going into the 4th quarter. Still it was a spirited comeback. But 4 missed free throws, Austin playing too far off Kyrie and I don’t know what LeBron saw on that forced pass into AD but it doomed us. Still if we can get our best defenders back I think we are in good shape.

Aloha,

The blow out win last night night was not a surprise. But holding Utah under 100 was. Offense is not their problem. They came in 9th in scoring with 116 a game, so our defense was impressive.

LBJ is amazing. Yes he has some head scratching turnovers and his perimeter defense isn’t what it used to be but sitting back in 4 spot, playing free safety makes up for it. And man. a career best in offensive efficiency is truly amazing.

AD seemed to moving freely for the first time since the hip injury. Thats a great sign.

Can we catch a break on the injury front? Cam’s defense was an integral part of our current success. Groin injuries can linger. I guess him coming back to the bench was a good sign, instead of receiving treatment in the locker room. Perhaps it’s just a mild strain. Fingers crossed.

I’m not particularly concerned by our inconsistent shooting. Overtime the guys will begin to trend towards their career averages.

Austin had a great game. For us to contend we need more consistency from him.

Wood had a bounce back game. It needs to become the norm.

Vando will be back soon. I’m looking forward to seeing him with Cam and AD. Could become one of the best defenses in the NBA.

With our 3 best on ball defenders out, the Mavs will be a challenge. While we won’t have an answer for Luka and Kyrie, I don’t think Dallas has an answer for AD and LeBron. It’s the 2nd night of a back to back. We really need to come out with energy. We can’t fall way behind again, may not have the energy down the stretch if we do.

Aloha,

On a night when AD was still hampered by that hip injury, we needed something extra to beat the Suns. And it came in the way of Cam Reddish. While his defense had been solid, his offense had been abysmal. 30% from the field and 12% from 3. Still, we as fans are not privy to what is going on in practice and Darvin followed a hunch and started Cam. The effect was twofold. Cam was huge starting, while Austin ran the 2nd unit to perfection. That’s something that had been missing.

After the 3rd loss in a row, panic had swept over Laker Land. Trade proposals were posted everywhere. I personally was not as worried. We had been slammed by injuries and as a group each player was shooting well under their career averages. I figured it would turn around at some point. It seemed that just about everyone contributed last night and that must continue. LeBron was LeBron, Rui had 4 steals and a block in 20 minutes and Wood pulled down 9 boards. Oh, shout out to Prince for that nifty little move to the basket for a game sealing layup. That was brilliant.

It will be interesting to see what the rotation looks like when Vando and Vincent return. I do think that Vando will become the 5th starter. He has definitely been the missing link defensively. Last year he allowed Austin and DLO to start together because they could put him on the best scorer. Now 6’ 10” I can’t think of another player in the league that size that can handle point guards.

I can see situations where they play 6’ 8” Cam with Vando and AD. That would be quite a defensive unit when you need to hold a lead.

I think at this point all we need to do is get healthy. But it’s good to know that we have options when we aren’t.

Aloha,

What fun, exciting and at times frustrating game. On a night when 4 rotations players were not available our much ballyhooed depth was on full display.

Cam was thrust into the starting 5 and delivered. While he had trouble scoring his defense was impressive. Hopefully he can straighten out his shot moving forward.

Max was kind of the same. After playing one minute this year he became part of the rotation. His shot wasn’t falling either but he played some solid defense.

A lot is being made of the minutes LeBron had to play. But last night those minutes were born from necessity. With 3 forwards down against a very good team, he had to play big minutes and he came through with a vintage LeBron game.

AD continues to dominate. He has had one bad half in 5 games. His over all game may have him in the MVP conversation if he manages to stay healthy. DPOY is his for the taking.

I was upset by the rotation in the 1st quarter but Coach Ham made a brilliant move in the 3rd quarter. With Kawahi resting he went with all 3 centers and it exposed what could be a Clipper weakness going forward. Lack of depth and size. PJ Tucker is a gutsy player but offensively he was an easy cover for Wood and at 6’ 5” he was just too small. Hayes handled the centers. And of course having your AD being able to guard PG is a luxury. We went on a run while LeBron rested. We probably won’t see that line up much but under the right circumstances it’s powerful.

Welcome back Austin. He made his season debut At exactly the right time in the 2nd half.

Could DLO become our long coveted 3rd star? His defense has improved and if he can come even close offensively to what he has done the last 2 games he could be. He showed off his high IQ all night, especially against the Clippers zone where he found soft spots for 3 easy hoops.

Can we not fall down by double digits in the first quarter? Asking for a friend. Oh we may want to spend more time practicing free throws. A lot of misses and 3 for 6 down the stretch gifted that overtime session to the Clippers.

All in all it was a great short handed win against a quality team. But the true test of our depth will come when either LeBron or AD are unable to play. Hopefully that will not happen often this year.

Aloha,

We are down 3 rotation forwards and a guard. We are short handed. I understand. But why do you take out AD. LeBron and DLO with both Kawahi and PG on the floor? I don’t understand that at all.

Aloha,

We saw something last night that was all too familiar. We fell behind early by 14 and had to fight our way back. That happened a lot last year and I’m hoping that it was the energy of the Nuggets ring night that caused it, not something we are going to see a lot.

This game was reminiscent of the last preseason game. We came out and couldn’t make shots. Austin missed some easy shots as did Dlo and Rui. The Nuggets are a good defensive team but not a great one and they had little to do with some of those misses. We have to get better.

Last year AD seemed to score well every other game. Last night he did it by halves. 1st half unstoppable. 2nd half disappeared. If LeBron is going to play only 30 minutes a game AD has to be better.

Prince was great last night. He is not as good as Vando on defense but he does compete. That kind of shooting could keep him in the starting unit. Still a bit concerned about his rebounding.

Speaking of rebounding we did win the rebound battle which had been a problem. We only turned the ball over 12 times but it lead to 20 points, highlighting our ongoing transition defense problems.

LeBron was LeBron. He missed his 3’s but was super efficient in everything else. He probably would’ve closed the game if it were close. By the way, can the man get a foul call? He was fouled on every drive, even got a bloody nose and didn’t draw a foul until the end of the game. And yes, the ref’s were homers last night.

Our 2nd unit is much better than Denver’s. I think it’s the reason why we should contend. But they have to be much better. We only won the 2nd unit battle by 4 points. It needed to be double digits. The 2nd unit guy who impressed me last night was Cam on the defensive side. He was very good.

It’s only one game against the champs on their ring night and we will get better. I still think by the end of the year we can beat the Nuggets in a 7 game series.

Aloha,

It’s finally time for Lakers basketball again. And I’m excited about our team for the first time in 3 years, even though the first few preseason games are more like controlled scrimmages.

For me the story will be the young guys. I’m actually glad that we didn’t have the trade capital to land an aging star because we could already have a couple on the roster.

This was the summer of Austin Reeves, other than a couple of guys caught up in trade rumors, no other NBA player generated as much press as Austin. And rightfully so, he proved in the FIBA tournament that the end of last season wasn’t a fluke. He naturally will targeted more this year but he is a high IQ player and I’m confident he will adjust. It won’t take much of a leap for him to go from high end role player to star.

The other player that could make a leap is Rui. He might actually be the most intriguing player for me. When Rui became available i immediately was interested. While he had not lived up to high expectations, he had flashed that often enough for me to believe we had no chance of landing him. Of all of Rob’s mid season acquisitions I thought Rui was the best from a price point. The day Rui was acquired Phil Handy called Darvin and said give me Rui. Phil said he saw a little Kawhi in Rui. Big, strong, mobile with a sweet midrange game. All indications are that he has been one of the hardest workers on the team. A little better 3 point shooting will open up that midrange even more. While he is not a Kawhi on defense yet he proved to be pretty good in the playoffs guarding 2 through 5. With a full camp and knowledge of the system I expect he will become even better. Confidence is king in sports. He went from a miserable organization to the Lakers where LeBron is mentoring him. If you listen to him, he is really confident and I’m excited to watch him grow.

The next guy of interest for me is Vando. While his offensive game has to come a long way before him entering the future star conversation, he is quite unique in the NBA. If the reports are true and he really is now 6’ 11”, he might be the only guy that size in the NBA that can hang with guys like Ja and Steph. That alone makes him extremely valuable. If he can consistently shoot say 35% from 3 that would be huge.

The last guy, I will file under future star. Max Christie. While Cam Reddish has more experience and I would love him to finally unlock his potential, it’s Max that has been turning heads in training camp. He has gained 18 pounds of muscle since entering the league. He was pretty good as a rookie but if you watched summer league, you could see the tremendous growth in his game. The Lakers lost the summer league when they decided they had seen enough and pulled him. He was dominant. When Max came out of high school, he was a five star recruit and one of the top players in his class. He had a mediocre Freshman year in college and probably should have stayed another year. But we are fortunate that he didn’t because we probably wouldn’t have landed him. He could end up being as big a find as Austin in a couple of years.

As usual there is a lot of chatter on who the Lakers could target mid season for a trade. But this team is so deep that we may not need a trade to win another ring. I will be paying close attention to the kid’s development this year.

Aloha,

Well it looks like Tom got his wish and it appears that Christian Wood is signing with the Lakers.

Adrian Wojnarowski
@wojespn
·
33m
Free agent F/C Christian Wood has agreed on a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell ESPN. Deal includes a player option.

The first year is for the minimum 2.7 mil and his option year is for 3 mil. At that price it’s a great signing and we did not have to give up an asset for him.

Now the ball is in Woods court.
1. He will have to at least give an effort on the defensive side of the ball or he will not play.
2. He will need to play within the offensive scheme and not freelance like he has been known to do.
3. He can’t project a negative attitude like in the past.

His future paydays hinge on these 3 things. He can either buy in or face a future of minimum contracts.