Team has size to play bully ball
He said he sought to find a rhythm on his way into the preseason but he mostly struggled to score, making only 38.9 percent from the field and 63.9 percent from the free-throw line. The Lakers are going to need him to be much better in the regular season.
Will the Lakers return to 2020 physical dominance?
In the aftermath of the Westbrook trade, the thinking was the Lakers would need to play Davis at center more frequently to allow them to get another shooter on the court. The quest for space quickly gave way to the lure of familiarity.
Both Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka and coach Frank Vogel have talked about the team using two centers like it did with JaVale McGee and Dwight
Howard on the way to an NBA title. Maybe it was the late addition of DeAndre Jordan that opened that door fully. Maybe Trevor Ariza’s ankle injury derailed the best option for a smallball lineup.
While Vogel hasn’t committed to a starting lineup yet, a lot of signs point toward the Lakers trying to bully teams with superior size like they did two seasons ago.
Are the upgrades on offense enough to erase the losses on defense?
The Lakers sacrificed key defenders in players like Dennis Schroder, Alex Caruso and Caldwell-Pope to add more offensive firepower. After living near the top of the league in terms of defensive efficiency, a slide seems inevitable. Claiming former Laker Avery Bradley on Monday should help defensively.
For every bit the Lakers are worse defensively, they’ll have to be better on offense, becoming a more potent shooting team, a better attacking group and a fasterpaced unit than they were when they could grind out wins.
It’s a good thing the preseason doesn’t count because the Lakers were one of the worst offenses in the NBA during that stretch. Getting Malik Monk, Kendrick Nunn and Wayne Ellington back from injuries early should help on the offensive end.
But no one can be sure if it’ll be enough.
Are they too old?
The Lakers left the preseason with James, Davis, Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony healthy, limiting their workloads over the course of six preseason games.
Along the way, they lost Monk to a groin injury, Nunn to an ankle injury and Ellington to a hamstring injury. Ariza underwent ankle surgery and will miss significant time. Same goes for Talen Horton-Tucker after thumb surgery.
The Lakers’ age is a twopronged issue, with the team forced to be careful with its veterans, which could end up putting additional stress on the rest of their players. It’ll be a tightrope walk all season, with the Lakers trying to maximize the value of experience while keeping everyone as healthy as possible.
For all of the roster decisions, none of it matters if James isn’t healthy enough to perform to his standard.