1. Is J.R. Smith close to being up to speed
Now, I will not be unfair and expect J.R. Smith to be incredible in this scrimmage or to be up to NBA standards right away. However, if there is going to be any chance that Smith’s tenure with the Lakers is going to work out then he is going to have to be at least close to NBA speed during the first scrimmage.
This is important because Smith is someone that has a particular skill set that can really benefit the Lakers in the playoffs. At his best, he is a lethal three-point shooter that has a ton of playoff experience, which is going to make him more reliable when he needs to hit the big shot.
The problem is that he has not played since November of 2018 and when he last played he did not look good, at all. Granted, it was on a really bad Cavaliers team, but he still looked pretty bad nonetheless.
Luckily for the Lakers, the team does not need Smith to be great to win the NBA Championship. He is a depth option more than anything but he does have the potential to take that next step above and beyond and make a tangible difference and even swing a playoff series with a big shot.
I get that he looks good in workouts and the videos of the Lakers practicing has actually been fairly promising for Smith so far. Now, I want to see it on an actual NBA court, at actual NBA speed, against another actual NBA team.