Los Angeles Lakers training camp is underway and we are starting to get an idea of what Darvin Ham and the coaching staff have in plan for the team. Some of these plans, such as Patrick Beverley’s role, seem absurd. But that is what camp and the preseason is for — to work out the kinks.
Before the preseason begins the only looks we will get at the Lakers are practice looks in which they are scrimmaging each other. This is not going to give us the complete picture, but it will give us an idea of what to expect.
And while there are some decent clips out there from the team scrimmaging against each other, perhaps the most notable is a clip that is definitely going to be discouraging for fans. If you were worried about the team’s ability to make shots before, this video is only going to make it worse (h/t Jovan Buha, The Athletic).
The Lakers are scrimmaging here at Pechanga.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 1, 2022
Purple team: Damian Jones, Cole Swider, LeBron James, Kendrick Nunn, Russell Westbrook
White team: Jay Huff, Thomas Bryant, Dwayne Bacon, Patrick Beverley, Scotty Pippen Jr. pic.twitter.com/MI3KklT0Fl
In this clip alone we have a mid-range miss from LeBron James, a bricked three-pointer by Patrick Beverley, a missed lay-up that might have been blocked from Kendrick Nunn, a made lay-up by Thomas Bryant and then another bricked shot by Kendrick Nunn.
It is hard to be excited about the Lakers with videos like this coming out.
Of course, this is just one small snippet of a scrimmage between the Lakers and they are just getting their bearing together ahead of the 2022-23 season. But with expectations already being low after a disappointing season, a video like this is only going to make fans feel worse about the team.
What makes it worse is that the Lakers are going to have to be a dynamic offensive team this season and they simply might not be able to. While Los Angeles has Anthony Davis and Patrick Beverley, the defense is still not going to be great.
If the Lakers cannot defend and also cannot make shots then it is pretty obvious that they are not going to win many games. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure that out. You would think that it does considering how LA has built its roster, though.
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Hopefully, we see a better showing out of the purple and gold in the team’s first preseason game of the year on Monday against the Sacramento Kings. If we see yet another ugly showing then it could be the start of another long season for Lakers fans.