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Los Angeles Lakers: 3 biggest hurdles to overcome in the regular season

By Jordanna Clark

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 12: Gary Payton II #0 of the Golden State Warriors knocks the ball from LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half of a preseason basketball game at Staples Center on October 12, 2021 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. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 12: Gary Payton II #0 of the Golden State Warriors knocks the ball from LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half of a preseason basketball game at Staples Center on October 12, 2021 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. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook
(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

NBA teams never leave the preseason behind without feeling like something needs to be fixed heading into the regular season and the Los Angeles Lakers are no exception. After losing to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, the Lakers set an 0-6 preseason record into stone for the 2021-22 season. That’s a tad bit alarming, but nothing to seriously worry about. If Los Angeles loses its first six regular season games, go ahead and panic.

The Lakers constructed a new-look lineup during the offseason that’s made up of a lot of veterans. Don’t forget about point guard Russell Westbrook, who is going to have to find a way to lead an offense made up of three of the top players in the league.

There’s a lot going on in Los Angeles and with opening night taking place on Oct. 19, there’s work that needs to be done. Injuries have unfortunately been a setback for a roster that hasn’t spent much time playing together. Head coach Frank Vogel has his work cut out for him, but luckily he has a pretty good track record.

3 hurdles that the Los Angeles Lakers need to overcome during the regular season:

1. Forming chemistry between the Big Three

There’s no way that any team could boast a starting lineup with LeBron James, Anthony Davis AND Russell Westbrook without running into some type of issue. LeBron likes to have the ball in his hands, but guess what? Anthony and Russell do too. An offense can be run around any one of the three, so this was a hurdle that the Lakers were well aware of after they traded for Westbrook during the offseason.

Remember how James teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami with the Heat? They made it work and won two titles in the process. The situation is different here, I know, but it’s not too dissimilar. LeBron and Anthony have played in 86 regular season games together and the duo has now expanded to a trio in order to make room for Russell.

The Big Three played together in the last two preseason games, and while they did lose both, it provided a bit of reassurance to Lakers fans. James led the team with 30 points on Thursday off of 12-for-20 shooting, Westbrook followed behind with 18 points and Davis finished with 14 points. Russell showed improvement after struggling through his first few appearances in the preseason, so the positive takeaways are there.

However, 82 games makes for a long, long season. That could play in Los Angeles’ favor, giving the Big Three plenty of time to build chemistry, but the Lakers won’t be able to afford numerous losses while trying to figure it out. You can’t base the rest of the year off of two preseason appearances and while they were encouraging, the regular season is an entirely different beast.

If LeBron, Anthony and Russell can mesh together to get into a groove early-on in the year, no team is going to be able to stop them. That’s the thing though, it’s up to them. Westbrook is a Los Angeles native, so if there was one player that could assimilate himself into the purple and gold culture, it’s him.

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