Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Players who disappointed against the Clippers

– Julius Randle

One of the stars for the Lakers in the preseason was forward Julius Randle. After putting in a lot of hard work this offseason to get into the best shape of his life, Randle looked poised for a big season. It shouldn’t have come as too much of a surprise to see Randle coming off of the bench for the Lakers, as that is what Luke Walton was doing for the last few games of the preseason. In that role during the preseason, Randle was able to thrive. However, that was not that case in the season opener.

Even though Randle finished with nine points and six rebounds, he had a horrific -25 +/-, which was easily the worst on the team. At times, Randle looked completely lost and really struggled on the defensive end to box out on misses.

While Randle might not be happy that he is coming off the bench, he is still a very important player for the Lakers this season. Hopefully, it was just him knocking off some of the rust from the side strain that he suffered in the final game of the preseason. It appears that Walton likes the combo of Nance and Lopez coming off the bench and that means that Randle will need to adjust to his new role.