Lakers fire warning shots with rebound
Walton’s marching orders clicking with young lineup — even Drake had to see
CHARLOTTE, N.C.— Basketball seems fun again for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Now done with the seemingly never-ending farewell tour of Kobe Bryant, infused with the enthusiasm of a new coach with ties to the last time the franchise was relevant and buoyed by a talented young group of players, the Lakers are turning the corner more quickly than many had expected.
Everything is relative, of course, and the Lakers were just 4-4 going into a Thursday night game in Sacramento against the Kings, but considering where they were, they’ve made quantum leaps. Consider: The Lakers have as many wins in eight games as they did in 25 last season.
They throttled the Golden State Warriors this past week, handing them their third loss of the season, a couple of months before the Western Conference champions lost three times last season.
They are treating the usual starstudded home fans — including Drake for the Warriors game — to success, having gone 3-1 at the Staples Center.
The last time they were above .500 this late in the season was Dec. 3, 2013, when they were 10-9. Heady times indeed. “It does seem to have come together, and everybody pulls for each other, and Luke is the ring leader,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told USA Today this week.
A lot of the credit is being given to coach Luke Walton, who rejoined the franchise he played for after learning at the feet of Steve Kerr in Golden State.
Walton has found a way to connect with young players like D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and rookie Brandon Ingram that’s brought out the best in them early in the season.
They have a disparate offence — five players have led the team in scoring. They aren’t forcing a heavy load on kids who might not be able to handle it — six players have played the most minutes in the first eight games. “He has our back,” was how Randle put it to USA Today.
“He’s in charge,” Kupchak said of Walton. “I wouldn’t say he’s easygo- ing. He knows what he wants, and he’ll enforce whatever it takes to get what he wants to get on the court.
“He’s got a little bit more of an edge than I thought. I knew, as a competitor and as a player, he had the edge. But he does have a little bit more of an edge as a coach than I thought he would’ve.”
Things could still go off the rails for the Lakers. The first eight games of any season are hardly a big enough sample size to suggest they are fully back. But given where they were in the last two seasons when they chugged along on Bryant’s coattails when he wasn’t hurt and other veterans tried to maintain their grasp on significant roles, the Lakers do seem to be doing things the right way.