LeBron James makes his Staples Center debut as the Lakers lose to the Denver Nuggets in their second preseason game.
The sold out crowd at Staples Center turned out in full to see their Los Angeles Lakers play the Denver Nuggets but more so to see the home debut of Lebron James.
Going into this game, Luke Walton was looking to make some adjustments, and he started by inserting Josh Hart into the starting lineup.
First off, the Lakers looked much more comfortable with each other as in the first game you could tell that they were a little out of sync offensively.
Those inconsistencies were corrected for the most part as the Lakers got off to a great start on offense with Rajon Rondo starting the game off with the first bucket of the game.
JaVale McGee made his presence felt early as he was very productive on offense scoring multiple buckets early and establishing a presence down low with a couple of spectacular blocks.
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Defensively, the Lakers still had their struggles especially guarding the perimeter. Luckily, the Nuggets were a little off their game as they went 2-for-15 from behind the arc in the first half.
As usual, LeBron James did not play much in this game as he only tallied 15 minutes in this game and contributed 13 points and 3 rebounds and had one ferocious slam.
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But since this is preseason, what was most important was how everybody not named LeBron James played.
Josh Hart certainly made his case for the starting lineup as he showed his ability to put the ball on the floor and finish around the rim on his way to 14 points and 3 rebounds.
Kyle Kuzma had another solid game but still showed some complications in the small ball lineup when guarding guys like Nikola Jokic who had 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and 6 rebounds.
Brandon Ingram added 4 points but was inactive for the most part. But again, it’s just preseason.
Lance Stephenson did what he always does. Lance scored 8 points and did a few little dances here and there. The Lakers played well until giving up the lead in the 4th quarter, but by that point the Lakers were down to their 2-way contract players and their Isaac Bonga’s.
Ironically, this game went down to the wire with Travis Wear, Joel Berry II, Isaac Bonga, and Lance Stephenson set to close out this game. After a 3-pointer by Donald Sloan to put the Nuggets up late in the game, The Lakers had an opportunity to win.
With the Lakers down 113-111 with seconds to go in the game, due to some over passing on the part of this unselfish Lakers squad, the Lakers were not able to get a shot off as time expired before they could get off a shot attempt.
Bottom line, the Lakers looked better offensively and once they get the hang of things defensively they will be an incredible team to watch. They can’t always rely on teams shooting 35% from behind the arc like the Nuggets did, but this is why we play preseason, to iron out the problems.
Luke Walton should use these first couple of preseason games to figure out what his roster rotations will be. Once that is sorted out he should configure his playbook to fit the mold of his lineups.
With Lonzo Ball still yet to make his return, that’s one variable that Luke Walton is going to have to work back into his gameplan. Hopefully, Lonzo will be able to return on Thursday against the Kings and if he does, the Lakers will be one step closer to being at full strength to start the season.