Since losing in their preseason opener to the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers have won two of their four games. The Lakers got schooled their first game, falling 125-108 to the Warriors. They beat the Brooklyn Nets 129-126 in a close game. Los Angeles then gained a victory in a thrilling game over the Sacramento Kings, 109-101. Yesterday, on Friday the 13th, they had a rematch against the Warriors and lost, 129-125. With a 2-2 record, the Lakers have two more preseason games against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. With two more games remaining before the regular season begins on October 24th, what have the Lakers shown us so far?
What the Four Preseason Games Say About the Lakers So Far
Lakers 108 – Warriors 125
In the pre-season opener, the Lakers were outclassed by the Warriors. The Warriors started their five stars while the Lakers played without two of their starters, Austin Reaves and LeBron James. The Warriors bench outplayed the Lakers’. Jonathan Kuminga had 24 points 4 assists, and 8 rebounds in 24 minutes. Moses Moody had 15 points, 2 assists, and 5 rebounds in 24 minutes. Meanwhile on the Lakers side, only Max Christie had more than 10 points off the bench. Anthony Davis also showed out with 15 points in 13 minutes. This first pre-season opener showed the world that Lakers were missing Reaves and James out there. This game highlighted the fact that the bench players could use some more work to do.
Lakers 129 – Nets 126
A key takeaway from the first pre-season game for the Lakers was that they were missing two important star players. Well, those players, Reaves and James, both came back against the Nets. This resulted in a narrow victory for Los Angeles at T-Mobile Arena. King James had 10 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds in under 20 minutes of action. AR-15 was one of the best Lakers of the night with 18 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds in 20 minutes. Rui Hachimura also shined as a 6th man rather than a starter. Hachimura had 19 points, 1 assist, and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes of play. Unlike the first game, where Hachimura was a starter, he looked better coming off the bench. Taurean Prince impressed as a starter and has potential to be in the starting lineup alongside James, Reaves, Davis, and D’Angelo Russell. Meanwhile, Davis continued to drop points in very little playing time. He had 13 points in just 14 minutes. They have to work on their defense and turnover mistakes as well.
Lakers 109 – Kings 101
No Davis, no Reaves, no James, no problem. The Lakers were without their top 3 starters and still got the job done. The Lakers outplayed the Kings on both sides of the court. The Kings struggled to shoot threes and were hesitant to go to the rim while the Lakers had no problem with their shooting or going to the rim. Lakers most impressive player of the night was D’Angelo. Russell had an impressive 21 points in 21 minutes. The star point guard also had 8 assists and 3 rebounds. Gabe Vincent finally showed up with 18 points of his own. Hachimura and Prince continued to impress. Christie has been looking worse the last two games. The Lakers winning without most of their starters showed a strong upside for them.
Lakers 125 – Warriors 129
The rematch of the first pre-season game ended with the same result but this time it was at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Warriors started the same starting 5 in the rematch while the Lakers played with Reaves, James, Prince, Davis, and Russell. In the first half Lakers looked impressive with 70 points and leading before half time. In the second half the bench players took most of the playtime. Like the first game our bench players were no match for the Warriors team. On the bright side Christian Wood is getting better game by game. Prince continues to impress as a starter and could be battling for a starting role in the near future. There are certainly some areas where the Lakers can improve but their is a lot of upside for this roster.
The Lakers will be looking to close out the pre-season with two victories hopefully over the Bucks on October 15th and the Suns on October 19th.
