Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers
Sports:Basketball
Darvin Ham to Treat Preseason Finale vs. Suns as a "Dress Rehearsal" for Lakers.
2023-10-19
Darvin Ham says tonight's preseason finale against Phoenix in Palm Springs will serve as a "dress rehearsal." Meaning for three quarters, he's going to treat everything about it, from player combinations and rotation choices, as if it was a real game. Fortunately for him, too, he'll be able to do it with most of the actors available. Among players expected to play a role in the rotation, only Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to miss the game, thanks to that bad heel. (He'll be evaluated again on Friday.)
So what should fans be looking for? There's the forward rotation, with Anthony Davis, Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes. There's Cam Reddish, and whether he gets meaningful run (because if he doesn't, it likely means Max Christie has truly sewn up that backup role behind Austin Reaves).
And what about the defense? The Sporting News has a very, very ambitious feature out ranking the top 100 defensive players in the NBA. Ambitious because it's still very challenging to figure out who really belongs where on a list like this because measuring effectiveness on that side of the ball is an inexact science. But the Lakers only have two guys - Davis (3) and Vanderbilt (30) - in that top 100. Does that matter?
It didn't last year after the deadline, when the Lakers were able to put together some very good performances on that side of the ball and develop a strong identity. Are the pieces better this season?
Finally, a viewer of the YouTube show thinks the media, including the hosts of this show, are being too optimistic about the team's chances. Or at the least, aren't taking into enough consideration how things could go wrong in ways that aren't simply about injuries.
Is he right?
Well, sort of, but a lot would have go wrong.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: It's a dress rehearsal! What to watch for.
SEGMENT 2: Are the Lakers set up to be good enough defensively?
SEGMENT 3: Are people overlooking this roster's flaws?
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