Fans are getting a taste of Los Angeles Lakers basketball for the first time in nearly six months as the preseason is set to get underway. At the team’s core, not much has changed from last season but the messaging is that a new coach and new commitment will lead to better results. We will see about that.
While preseason games don’t count and the final outcome doesn’t really matter, we can learn things about the team in the process. Last preseason Russell Westbrook and the team had serious turnover problems that were just pushed off as growing pains in games that didn’t matter. As we all saw, it ended up being a warning for what was to come during the season.
Fans should not overreact if the team goes undefeated in the preseason but they also should not ignore any potential warning signs. Regardless, there are some burning questions that fans are going to want the answers to.
1. Is Russell Westbrook really going to buy into what the Lakers want?
Spoiler alert: I think the answer to this question is going to be no as Russell Westbrook has not changed how he has played basketball his entire career. But hey, you never know, crazier things have happened in this league and Westbrook could surprise us.
Westbrook has not even been guaranteed a starting spot in the lineup by Darvin Ham, which could motivate the former MVP to buy into the things that the team is selling him. Perhaps we see a more selfless Westbrook in the preseason, which would be a promising sign for every fan.
In this particular instance, I would avoid getting too excited if it does seem like Russ is buying into LA’s plans for him. It is easy to buy into this now at the beginning of the year when everything is fresh and the outcomes don’t matter.
But as we have seen time and time again, guys typically tend to revert back to their old habits the longer the season goes on.