Los Angeles Lakers: Player evaluations from preseason opener
Guards
Avery Bradley was as good as advertised. He’s got a massive chip on his shoulder because of the way he’s bounced around the league over the last few seasons.
Most people forget that Bradley was named All-Defensive first team in 2016. After the way he bodied up Stephen Curry and made his life miserable during the Lakers first preseason game, it looks like Bradley’s finally healthy and he’s going to make a run at another All-Defensive team.
Danny Green single handedly ruined D’Angelo Russell‘s Warrior debut. Green was the main reason Russell shot 2-for-9 from the field and scored only four points.
If there was any doubt about how Green would perform this season after a long finals run, he put all the other guards in the league on notice that he’s still the best 3-and-D wing in the association.
Rajon Rondo played excellent all-around basketball. He shot 40% from downtown, and he showed off his passing chops with a few freakish assists to Davis and JaVale McGee at the rim. On defense, Rajon wasn’t great, but he tried, which is all we can ask from Rondo at this stage of his career.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was awful last season, and he looked just as bad during the Lakers first preseason contest. He once again combined weak defense with a non-existent 3-point stroke. KCP was the only regular rotation player for the Lakers who didn’t finish the game with a positive net rating.
Troy Daniels and Alex Caruso both played excellently. Daniels finished with 14 points, two steals, and a +18 net rating while Alex Caruso had 10 points, six assists, two steals, and +17 net rating. Caruso only saw action against the Warriors backup guards in the second half, but he still looks like the great all-around player who broke out at the end of last season.
This was just the Lakers first preseason game, but that’s irrelevant. KCP has never been an effective player for LA and this was his first chance this season to show that’s he’s ready to step and fill the role of a solid 3-and-D player. Caldwell-Pope blew it.
Daniels and Caruso both showed that they deserve a chance to move past KCP on the Lakers depth chart at shooting guard.