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Los Angeles Lakers: Three things we learned from the first preseason game

By William Jordan

Los Angeles Lakers, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Lakers, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 17: Lonzo Ball (L) #2 and Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers stand on the court as the American national anthem is performed before the championship game of the 2017 Summer League against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 17, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Los Angeles won 110-98. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

The Los Angeles Lakers lost their first preseason game to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Here are three things we learned from the loss.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost their first preseason game to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night. In spite of the final score the Lakers were active, played team defense and moved the ball.

The point of preseason is twofold. First, to put into action what Walton has been working on in practice. Second, to assess how players perform against other NBA players.

We learned and confirmed some interesting things about the Lakers on Saturday night. Here are three key takeaways.

All eyes were on Lonzo Ball.

Similar to his first Summer League game Ball’s performance was nothing to get excited about. Fans who didn’t see his MVP Summer League performances are left wondering what all the hype is about.

Pros

Zo displayed a nice floater in the lane which was not something we saw during Summer League. Some reports claimed he is slower than today’s point guards need to be. However it didn’t look that way and he displayed good fundamentals and physical tools.

Lonzo also looked competent running the offense and handling the ball. Point guard is the hardest position for a rookie to come in and fill. There will be nights he looks lost but overall he looked comfortable and in control.

Cons

In spite of shooting 41 percent from deep in college his three-point shooting was horrible in Summer League. That trend continued Saturday as he was 1 of 5 from outside adding to his 10 of 42 from summer. Since putting on a Lakers uniform Ball is shooting 23% from three.

It was also obvious that Ball was not looking to score but to pass first. At times it was overkill. On several occasions he made passes out from under the basket instead of putting up what were likely uncontested layups.

It is to be expected that he will focus on passing first even to the extreme during his rookie season. There will be room for growth finding the right places to score and making the right basketball decisions.

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