The Los Angeles Lakers have one preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets in the books and have five more tune-up games before the games really start to matter on October 19. It was nice to get our first taste of Lakers basketball and there definitely were some takeaways from the game.
It also gave us a glimpse into the rest of the preseason for the Lakers. The Lakers have a really deep rotation and several roster battles will likely be decided in the preseason. Of course, things are privy to change as the season goes along, but the preseason will determine the starting point for the Lakers.
Los Angeles Lakers roster battles to watch during the preseason:
1. Dwight Howard vs. DeAndre Jordan
When the dust settles chances are that Howard and Jordan end up playing near-identical minutes similar to what Howard did with JaVale McGee in 2019-20. However, one of the two has to start and it will be interesting to see who earns the nod in the regular season.
Jordan got the start in the first preseason game but that by no means guarantees that he will start in the regular season. Howard had a pretty good game against Brooklyn and it would not be surprising whatsoever to see him win the starting job.
More importantly, it will be interesting to see who Frank Vogel turns to in key moments. In the playoffs, there are going to be moments where the team removes the center completely and puts AD at the five.
However, in the regular season, one of these two is likely going to close out most games and it will be interesting to see who the team trusts more.