The Lakers have had a very eventful and promising off-season, Summer League and preseason. The New-era Lakers hype train has taken off at full speed and the expectations, albeit tempered, have reached meteoric heights.
For those who may have been under a rock, let me give you a recap. Magic and Rob replaced Kupchak and Jimmy. Lakers drafted highly-touted UCLA star Lonzo Ball. He became the biggest out-of-college celebrity to never play an NBA game. Lakers traded D’Angelo Russell for Brook Lopez and a 27th pick. They signed young defensive stopper Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Lakers young guns took the Summer League Championship. Lonzo won MVP and 27th draft pick Kyle Kuzma won the Summer League Championship game MVP and averaged over 20 points a game. The hype continued to build in spite of a lukewarm preseason and now here we are three games in. People are already talking, and because it’s the Los Angeles Lakers, everything is magnified.
The Lakers laid an egg in the season-opener, got bounced around in the paint by Blake Griffin, Deandre Jordan and the Clippers. Patrick Beverly gave Lonzo Ball an official rookie hazing and trial by fire, holding him to 3 points and basically bullied him up and down the court. Even so, Ball pulled down 9 rebounds and even had a steal and a block. Lopez opened with a 20 point game and Clarkson continued to be steady off the bench with 18 points. Nance had an impressive debut with a double double.
The Lakers were able to turnaround and pull out a win against the Suns. Lonzo made up for his debatable opening night failure with a near triple double. He had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. This game saw Brandon Ingram breakout to a career high 25 points. Clarkson, Lopez and Nance stayed consistent.
The third game of the season featured the debut of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who did not disappoint with 20 points 2 steals and a block. Kuzma broke out with 20 points and Clarkson was business as usual with 24 points. The Lakers lost this one by 7, but almost pulled off an improbable comeback after trailing by as many as 22. Lonzo Ball had an off shooting night, but the statsheet stuffer still dished out 13 assists and had 8 rebounds.
The Lakers sit at 1-2. Fans and media have weighed in (because I suppose they have to) on everything from whether Lonzo is legit to whether Randle is just trade bait or a great player figuring things out.
So, even though it’s early. What have we learned?
Jordan Clarkson is STILL the man. Hate it or love it, you cannot deny that Jordan Clarkson is still Mr. Consistent. Even with demotion (which I still take issue with), he has been the most consistent Lakers player ever since he came on the scene. He has started off this season no different. It seems he relishes his role off the bench although one can validly argue that he should start somewhere. His mid-range is money. He can get to the basket and create. He is developing that 3 point shot, and low-key he is starting to be more active on defense.
Kyle Kuzma is destined to get more minutes. Luke has a dilemma of sorts. Kyle Kuzma has not been denied since Summer League. He is officially the steal of the draft. He has a motor like Randle and a jumpshot. He has ups similar to Nance and can create his own shot. It won’t be long before he threatens to takeover the starting spot. Luke knows he has to find major minutes for Kuz, even at the expense of other big men.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is as good as advertised. It’s just one game, but once chemistry develops, KCP will no doubt mesh well with Lonzo Ball. His 20 points and 2 steals will be a huge boost to the Lakers defense. I even may expect KCP to guard Wall in tonight’s game against Washington.
Josh Hart will get more minutes than Ennis. Josh Hart seems to be the next energy guy who will make his presence felt in ways that do not show up on the stats. His rebounding, energy and ability to attack the rim and hit the three puts him ahead of players like Tyler Ennis. The shooting guard position off the bench is still relatively up for grabs and he looks to grab those minutes if he bolsters the defense the way he did against N.O.
Lonzo Ball is going to be great. Lonzo’s ability to affect a game even when he’s not scoring is why he’s going to be a star. When he’s not scoring, he is pulling down 9 rebounds, dishing out 13 assists or getting steals and blocks. The fact that it’s only the third game of the season and he’s almost averaging a triple double is evidence enough. He just needs time. I expect him to move up the learning curve quickly. He has no choice with the NBA coming for his head on a nightly basis.
Chemistry still pending. Relax guys. The Lakers had a preseason without Lopez, without Bogut, without Ball. They started the season without KCP. Then they got him back. Luke is still looking for the right mix of guys that can get results. Sunday’s game shed some light on that. Hopefully they can settle on a rotation that lasts for at least 5 games and develop some chemistry.
The jury is still out on Randle. Julius spent the first 2 games somewhat offended that he had to come off the bench. In the 3rd game, he showed what he can do when he’s engaged. Although Nance has seemed to takeover that starting spot, Randle still can find his stride if he picks up where he left off in the 3rd quarter of the last game. He still needs to find his jumpshot too.
If we throw out the Clippers game where nerves were definitely there, the Lakers actually had some pretty good games. They found their defense in the 2nd half of the Pelicans game, allowing 41 points after giving up 68. What we will be looking for tonight against Washington is if they learned that they should play this way for 48 minutes, and especially at the beginning.
Look for Luke and staff to take notes from the last game and start to develop effective rotations. Look for Ball to make up for a poor shooting night. Look for Brook and Nance to also try to have better games. Also look for continued improvement from Brandon Ingram who still hasn’t been himself yet.
Stay tuned, Lakers fans!
The Lakers Optimist 