Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers
Sports:Basketball
Russell, Davis, Christie Shine, but Reddish, Wood Struggle in Los Angeles Lakers Preseason Opener
2023-10-09
LeBron James and Austin Reaves both sat out LA's preseason opener Saturday in San Francisco against the Warriors, so in one sense, it's hard to view anything about the results of the game (the Lakers lost) as any sort of barometer about what's coming this season. But just because the final score didn't really matter doesn't mean stuff that happened was unimportant.
There was much good:
- Anthony Davis looked smooth and sharp, particularly with that perimeter jumper that's been winning praise from folks over the last few weeks. Davis was 2-3 from downtown, and if the shooting form holds (meaning Davis finally becomes the distance shooter he teased at a couple years ago, the Lakers will have a new weapon at their disposal). But broadly, Davis was moving well and looked very comfortable.
- D'Angelo Russell was excellent, controlling the flow of the offense en route to 15 points and five assists in only one half's worth of minutes. (Davis only played in the first half, as well.) With a nice combo of inside/out play, his customary change of speed and so on, it was a reminder about what the Lakers appreciated about Russell after the trade last year.
- Max Christie looked like an NBA rotation player, and seems to be building on his excellent SPL performance. He was aggressive and confident, but in control and within the asks of the offense and defense. There wasn't any freelancing, and Christie seems to understand what he need to do to get the kind of playing time many are predicting.
There was some bad:
- Christian Wood looked sluggish. Like stuck-in-a-mud, "sluggish like a wet sponge" type way. It's not to say he wasn't trying out there, because he was, it just seemed like his speed and burst (or lack there of) was noticeable.
- Taurean Prince seemed like he was eager to get himself out of his debut in a Lakers uniform, picking up five fouls in like seven minutes, then finally fouling out after 12:53 of burn.
- Cam Reddish looked very rough, and then hurt his ankle. Again, not an auspicious debut for a guy who will have to scrape and claw his way to playing time.
Some of that stuff probably qualifies as ugly, too, but hey it was the first day. No need to get too worked up.
So what's coming on Monday against the Nets in Las Vegas? Depends a little on whether LeBron and Reaves suit up, but for starters it'll be nice to see the guys who struggled bounce back, and to find out whether some chemistry between lineup combos that are highly anticipated (Wood with Davis, Wood with LeBron for example) show some promise.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell shine in the preseason opener.
SEGMENT 2: Max Christie looked great, as well. Jaxson Hayes? Intriguing!
SEGMENT 3: Reddish, Prince and Wood struggle.
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