Los Angeles Lakers: 6 Lessons in preseason loss to Brooklyn

Here are six lessons for the Los Angeles Lakers in their loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

The Los Angeles Lakers brought a ton of drama to the NBA last year with the Anthony Davis trade, Luke Walton‘s job status, roster construction and Magic Johnson‘s shocking resignation. Well this time, the Lakers was on the outside watching the drama unfold as there were questions on if this game would even be played after the now infamous Daryl Morey tweet that was read around the basketball world.

Despite cancellations of numerous NBA Cares events which were goodwill efforts from the Brooklyn Nets and the Lakers, the questions were finally answered that kept many in the dark about the future of the weekend matchups between the two teams. The frustrations on both sides started to mount as ESPN’s Rachel Nichols eloquently describes here.

With all of this going on, the question going on all week from players on both sides to fans were the same. Was there actually going to be a game to be played? That question was reported Wednesday evening by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

What you probably heard after that announcement was a collective sigh of relief and frantic button pushing of alarm clocks for a 4:30 am start on the West Coast. But that didn’t end the drama, there was another important question to be answered.

Was the game going to be televised so NBA fans in America could actually see it? With meetings behind the scenes that only few will ever know about, the game was televised and Lakers fans in America got to see it. Not without a few “conditions”.

A few hours before the game started those conditions were announced. There would be no media availability of any kind for either team. That was probably the aftermath of the players concerns of being put in a position to ask questions that they were not ready or willing to ask for.  What showed that tensions haven’t subsided was NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s pregame news conference getting canceled.

With the canceling of two NBA Cares events, an NBA 2K League logo unveiling and a fan appreciation event in the days leading up to the game, just getting the product on the floor is enough for now.

The Los Angeles Lakers, fresh off beating the 5-time Western Conference champion, Golden State Warriors like a drum on Saturday night, lost to the Brooklyn Nets 114-111. The game was tight at the end, but one blown defensive assignment and a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed potential tying 3-pointer sealed the loss.

This game had its fair share of questions during the game that was confusing for the Lakers as well. Whether it was the long flight over to China or the distractions on the days when the team was there, the Lakers did not have the same energy displayed in the first preseason game. Turnovers, missed perimeter defensive assignments (More on that later!) and the Nets competing on the boards, hurt the Lakers chances of winning a game that they should have won.

Frank Vogel continued to play with his brand new chemistry set, rolling out the starting lineup of Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Dwight Howard to play with the dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Avery Bradley, Danny Green and JaVale McGee, who set the tone on the defensive end started on the bench and it brought mixed results.

While using these exhibition games to experiment with this group makes sense, it should be noted that this lineup lacked the defensive force than the previous one that the Golden State Warriors struggled with in the first game of the preseason.

There are no guarantees that the Nets and Lakers will play on Saturday, hopefully they will considering that there was a capacity crowd in Mercedez-Benz Arena and the Nets owner, Joe Tsai will want to see his recently bought billion dollar team on stage once again.

But for now, let’s talk Lake Show Life Lessons.

The Los Angeles Lakers should be glad he’s on their team. No check that, the NBA should be glad he’s on their team. 

Let’s take a look at the highlight below. It shows the team work of James and Davis and how these two will make the Lakers championship contenders. That’s not the point to be made here. Just listen to the oohs and ahhs of the 15,992 fans in the arena as he scores his last bucket before sitting down for the rest of the game.

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1182285937658585088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1182285937658585088&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.silverscreenandroll.com%2F2019%2F10%2F10%2F20907868%2Flakers-vs-nets-preseason-recap-china-lebron-james-anthony-davis-highlights-rajon-rondo-stats-recap

James showed again why he is considered the most powerful athlete in the world by doing his part by putting on a show for the fans to enjoy. The fans rained down chants of “MVP” at times during the game and cheered every time he threw down a slam dunk in pregame warm-ups.

James easily was the main attraction and did not disappoint, scoring 20 points, while grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out 2 assists. It was a little bit of surprise that he was seen for a spell in the second half, but as the video above shows he ended on a good note. After the game, he threw headbands and rubber bracelets to the fans.

As shown by the entire team at times, LeBron impact was uneven. He missed a few layups after Rodions Kurucs got under his skin with physical play at the end of the first half.

But LeBron’s impact was more important being an ambassador to NBA basketball than anything he did on the stat sheet. For roughly two hours, we all forgot the issues that is going on with the NBA and China. Many are wondering why James and other players haven’t spoken out on this situation that is going on. LeBron is showing that there are other ways to make an impact without being in front of cameras and a microphone.

Anthony Davis showed the potential of dominance on Saturday. He showed potential of what skeptics are weary of Thursday.

There is a phrase (Or joke!) that is known in NBA circles. What do you call a power forward with two rebounds? Answer: A small forward.

Davis did put up numbers against the Nets, scoring 16 points, while passing out 5 assists and blocking 2 shots. The problem is if you are a Lakers fan is the rebounding. Two rebounds from Davis shows that he was not as aggressive as he was against the Warriors.

He wasn’t imposing his will on the Nets like the show he put on Saturday. This Davis is the dominant force that the Lakers need to see on a consistent basis if he’s going to be the number one option.

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1182282430654242816

In the third quarter, Davis posts up Taurean Price down low. Davis notices the mismatch and just rolls Prince with a drop step and tears the rim down. In the first half, Davis shot more from the perimeter and was not as active.

Maybe with Dwight Howard in the starting lineup, it interrupted the rhythm of the starting lineup and the aggressiveness of Davis in general.

Whatever the reason, if the plan is to implement Davis as the number one option, he has to impose his will while

James plays the supporting role. In this game, the roles were reversed.

Speaking of Howard, let’s look at how he fared along with his tag team partner McGee.

JaVale McGee takes the lead in the starting center sweepstakes!

Lake Show Life came up with numerous reasons why Howard should the guy standing center court to jump it up on October 22nd. After a couple of preseason games, that might not be the case any longer. Whether, its timing from the nearly season long layoff or lingering effects of his back surgery (Psychological), he looks very stiff and the rim protection was off.

Dwight Howard scored 5 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and had a block and a steal. But what is getting Howard into trouble which Vogel and the coaching staff will catch on to is the fact he get caught in no man’s land on defense.

https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1182263849082216449

In the pick and roll, Howard gets caught watching the ball and not making a committed decision to stay by DeAndre Jordan or trapping the ball strongly to allow the defensive rotation to happen. Instead Howard depends on trying to block the shot which breaks down the defense.

Plus Howard allowed Jordan to outrun him down the floor. This hurt in the Lakers fast break here,

Rondo is running to the basket for a lay up. Jordan runs the floor hard to get back and block the shot. Why is this an issue? Look at Howard jogging into the play well behind the play. Howard is going to help this team by doing the little things. He can’t afford to rely on his athleticism to bail him out of plays when he is not giving maximum effort.

This is not the case with McGee. He is playing hard and if you put him next to Anthony Davis, opposing teams will struggle big time finishing at the rim. McGee finished 6 points, 10 rebounds (4 on the offensive end), 3 steals and 5 blocks. What got lost in the game was a great save falling on his backside to a shooter for a 3-pointer.  Barring an injury or a Luke Walton-like lineup change, McGee has staked his claim as the starter being an unstoppable lob and put-back threat on the pick and roll. Moreover, JaVale is willing to do the dirty work, Dwight is not there yet.

Rajon Rondo played well and is showing immaculate chemistry with AD.

Rondo played very well with the starters in the lineup. The NBA is going to possibly get some insight on how hard Rondo worked in the offseason on his shot. He came out aggressive and looked to shoot the ball and gain his rhythm. Rondo started to solidify his position in the starting lineup with 18 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds while continuing to display good chemistry with Davis. Normally Davis is the guy that finishes plays while Rondo is the setup man. Here, the roles are reversed.

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1182266192133623810

Notice how Rondo and Davis work the pick and roll and Davis gets the ball at the key. With all of the attention he commands, Rondo slips backdoor for the easy layup with the smooth setup from AD.

This didn’t happen last year, with Rondo. Most of the time, Rajon would pound the ball and not embrace moving without the ball. Most will be looking to see if they can lay off Rondo and let him shoot. Something the Nets did in this game. They paid for it. Rondo shot over 50% (7-for-13 including 2-for-3 from distance) and made his free throws. He was the best player by far in the Lakers backcourt.

However, defense is always an issue and boy it was in this game.

Bottom line: The Los Angeles Lakers perimeter defense was atrocious

There was a whole lot of talk about the improved defense of the Lakers. Now there is improvement, it’s just on the Lakers back line. They will do just fine this season. No problems there. Let’s just talk about the perimeter for a second. It needs work.

The reason why the Lakers lost this game was the abysmal perimeter defense of the backcourt. The Nets rang up 20 3-point shots and most of them were poorly contested.

Or if at all.

More often or not, Green, Bradley, Rondo and especially Caldwell Pope either botched switching assignments or were soft getting through screens. Time after time, it allowed Brooklyn open opportunities that they cashed in on.

https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1182306541761781761

When the perimeter defensive players weren’t giving up shots from long distance like AT&T, they were exposing the centers getting them into foul trouble. Howard had five fouls in the game and  McGee had four. It bears mentioning that poor defense on the perimeter brought out frustrations from McGee that was voiced in the media. With poor performances like these, JaVale might want to start warming up those pipes.

The Los Angeles Lakers traded their “young core”. It doesn’t mean they don’t have young talent.

Sure the Lakers gave up a ton sending Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart among a ton of picks for Davis. However, that doesn’t mean that they don’t have promising young players to develop. While the veterans are making runs for the NBA title, these players could be on a NBA roster down the road. One player that paved the road, to success is Alex Caruso.

Alex Caruso:

Alex Caruso showed some heart in this game, rebounding from a slow start that included being sent to the floor with a violent DeAndre Jordan block. But the one thing Caruso is going to do every night guaranteed is play hard. After getting his shot blocked, he had the presence of mind to foul Jordan and send him to the line. It actually worked when Jordan missed the free throw. Caruso was probably the only perimeter player to compete on the defensive end of the floor.

His hard work kept the Lakers in the game down the stretch against a couple of Nets starters, as he finished with 11 points, 8 assists, 3 steals. He did not shoot well, only hitting 4-for-12 from the field, but Caruso provided the little things the Lakers need to flourish this season.

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1182274784740048901

Zach Norvell Jr.:

One young player to watch for the rest of the preseason is two-way contract rookie Zach Norvell Jr. He surprised the Nets with timely shooting that netted 7 points over the final 13 minutes of regulation that helped that Lakers almost force overtime if Caldwell-Pope’s jumper hadn’t gone awry.

Devontae Cacok:

Anyone still remember Jemerrio Jones? That was the under-sized guy that came out of nowhere and out-muscled big men for rebounds, collecting double-doubles along the way. Lakers fans, the franchise found his replacement. Cacok is a man under the boards. A couple of times, Cacok threw Jarrett Allen on the floor muscling him for a rebound and he took a tumble with Jordan forcing a jump ball at mid-court.

At 6’7 and 240 pounds, if he can move around the Brooklyn’s two centers, it speaks to how hard and strong this guy really is.

The Los Angeles Lakers have started their championship journey. Lake Show Life will along for the wild ride giving you the most in-depth complete analysis and coverage. Keep it locked with us.