The Los Angeles Lakers took on the Golden State Warriors for the second time this preseason and for the second time, the Lake Show fell to their rivals from the bay. But as we all know, preseason outcomes do not matter as the most important thing is what fans learn about the team along the way.
Fans have learned a lot about this Lakers team in four preseason games and it has created legitimate excitement for the 2023-24 season. This is a Lakers team that is hungry with a fanbase that is even hungrier. That has shown in the preseason.
With most of the traditional rotation players playing on Friday night against the Warriors (sans Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent), Lakers fans were able to learn some critical lessons about their team in the loss.
3 critical lessons fans learned about the Lakers in loss to Warriors:
1. This is the best shooting team LA has had since LeBron James came to town
The one thing that has constantly held the Lakers back in recent years has been three-point shooting. Heck, even in the team’s championship season the three-point shooting was not that great in the regular season but caught fire when it needed to in the NBA Playoffs.
If the Lakers had better shooting last year then they would have been able to weather the storm when guys like Jamal Murray and Bruce Bowen had breakout games that they seemingly could not miss. That was ultimately the difference in the Western Conference Finals.
This team has the roster to compete from beyond the arc. Whether it be further development for guys like Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, new faces like Taurean Prince and Christian Wood, or Anthony Davis’ increased focus on his three-point game.
Los Angeles shot 16-36 from beyond the arc (44.4%) and had 10 different players hit a three-point shot.
2. Taurean Prince should be the Lakers’ fifth starter
Darvin Ham has not committed to telling fans or the media who the Lakers’ fifth starter will be. The four starters locked in are D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The candidates for the final starting spot are Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt and Taurean Prince.
Vanderbilt has been out of action and that has given the other options to shine. Taurean Prince started on Friday night and he was exceptional, scoring 17 points in 20 minutes of play. Prince played great defense and was extremely efficient from the floor, going 5-6 from the field and 4-5 from three.
Prince may not be as good of a defender as Vanderbilt and he might not be as good of a scorer as Hachimura but he is the perfect blend of the two. His scoring and defense make him extremely malleable.
Hachimura would be best used off the bench as a sixth man with his scoring. Vanderbilt’s defense could become important off the bench as well in minutes Christian Wood is playing. A second lineup of Gabe Vincent, Max Christie, Hachimura, Vanderbilt and Wood can score the rock and can still defend because of Vando and Vincent.
3. Jalen Hood-Schifino is a legitimate project
This is something that fans probably should have expected from the get-go but we all know how it is. It does not matter who the Lakers would have taken in the 2023 NBA Draft, whoever got their name called was instantly going to get expectations attached to their name.
In reality, the 20-year-old guard has a bit to go until he is going to be a legitimate rotation piece and that is fine! Max Christie did not have an impact on last year’s team whatsoever and now he enters this season as one of the most anticipated players on the roster.
Hood-Schifino will get more playing time on G League assignments as the Lakers play the long game with him. Friday’s preseason game was simply a reminder that he is still half-baked and there is nothing wrong with keeping him in the developmental oven a bit longer.