Why Lakers fans should definitely be panicking after the preseason

The Los Angeles Lakers finished up preseason play with a 1-5 record that did not inspire much confidence in the fanbase. However, at the end of the day, preseason games ultimately do not matter and there certainly are fans who are still looking at the bright side of things.

While the outcomes of these preseason games do not matter and the sample size is small, there is still a lot you can learn about a basketball team in these games. The things you learn can certainly cause panic.

After such a bad season last year, there are lower expectations for the Lakers, so the 2022-23 season inevitably won’t be as disappointing. That being said, fans should still be panicking after seeing what they saw in the six preseason games.

Here are 3 reasons why Lakers fans should be panicking after the preseason:

1. The team’s biggest projected weaknesses showed up 

It would be one thing if the Lakers were an established playoff team that obviously did not take the preseason seriously. That is not the case. This is a team with a lot of roster turnover that is trying to find its identity in the preseason and early on in the season.

It is hard not to panic when the team comes out and showcases the exact weaknesses on the roster that fans were already concerned about. Most notably, the Lakers could not shoot threes and played shoddy defense.

The lack of shooters in Los Angeles was well-documented all offseason, making the team’s 30% three-point percentage even more painful. This is not just a cold streak from the team’s shooters. This is the level of three-point shooting talent that is on this roster.

Defensively, the Lakers completely went against all of the promising expectations that Darvin Ham was giving fans all offseason. The Lakers allowed their opponents to score 118.3 points per game in the preseason. That would have ranked dead last in the league last season.