Los Angeles Lakers: 8 early observations from 2018-19 season

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 20: the Los Angeles Lakers stand for the national anthem prior to the game against the Houston Rockets on October 20, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images /

Two games into the Los Angeles Lakers season isn’t enough of a sample size to make any significant assumptions, but here are eight early season observations.

It was easy to predict that the Los Angeles Lakers would get off to a slow start and that it will take time for the players to get accustomed to one another.

Logically, the Lakers were expected to lose their first two games- in Portland, where they seldom win, and at home against one of the league’s best teams, Houston. They deserve credit for battling both teams until late in the fourth quarter.

Head coach Luke Walton is still experimenting with player combinations, trying to determine who works best together. It will likely take a fair amount of time for him to be able to rotate players with more certainty.

For now, let’s forget about “the fight” on Saturday night, which will end up being a mere footnote to the season. Instead, here are eight observations about what looks good and what seems not-so-good so far:

1. JaVale McGee starts hot

JaVale McGee has played surprisingly well. In those two games, he is averaging 14.5 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks, and is shooting 70.6%. And he’s doing all of this in just 20.5 minutes per game. But therein lies a problem. McGee hasn’t averaged as much as 18 MPG in 6 years. At age 31, can he maintain anything close to this pace without getting injured?

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