NFL
By: Melo Williams
The Los Angeles Lakers returned to the court on Monday night for their first preseason game under Lakers first-year head coach Darvin Ham by hosting the Sacramento Kings.
Darvin mentioned he was going to try out a few different lineups during the preseason but in the first Lakers preseason game, Ham went with Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Damian Jones.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook all played 15-16 minutes. James and Davis played 16 minutes and Westbrook played a total of 15 minutes. All three All-Stars only played in the first half as Ham sat them in the second half so he could fairly critique the rest of his team without playing with the Big 3.
The Lakers went into halftime leading 46-41. James finished with four points, one rebound, and two assists. Anthony Davis finished the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Russell Westbrook had five points, three rebounds, and three assists.
Kevin Nunn finished the game with nine points, two rebounds, and one assist in 20 minutes. Damian Jones had one point, four rebounds, and one assist. Wenyen Gabriel had six points to go along with 10 rebounds. Max Christie had a good outing as well scoring five points, six rebounds, and three assists in 20 minutes.
In 2021-2022, a 37-year-old LeBron James in his 19th season managed to average an astonishing 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists shooting 54% from the field a night. He still remains one of the best players in the league, but the Lakers’ must understand James can no longer do it all on his own. LeBron James is in his 20th season, and as long as James can stay healthy, the Lakers will get solid production from LeBron. The key is for it to translate to wins.
Russell Westbrook was brought in last year over DeMar DeRozan and Russ hasn’t quite lived up to the Lakers expectations they had for him last year. The mindset around #LakeShow Nation last season was to have the three All-Stars LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook lead the Lakers as a formidable Big 3 to jumpstart the Lakers back into title contention. The regular season came and injuries happened so the Lakers were never really allowed to assess the trio of James, Davis, and Westbrook as a unit because all three were rarely on the court at the same time.
Anthony Davis missed a total of 42 games, LeBron James missed 26 games while Russell Westbrook played in 78 games and was left to fend for himself most of the season while averaging a respectable 18.5 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 7.1 APG while shooting 44%. The problem for Russ even as good as he played, his numbers didn’t translate to wins either like they didn’t for LeBron James.
LeBron James is still by far the Lakers’ best player, but there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Lakers chances will largely depend on Anthony Davis’ health and if he can stay healthy throughout the season. He is the Lakers best defender and rim protector. Davis averaged 1.2 steals and 2.3 blocks per game in the 40 games that he played in last year.
With the additions of Patrick Beverly and Dennis Shroder, it adds veteran defensive experience to the Lakers’ backcourt who can defend the perimeter. Austin Reaves will be a decent rotational player that can provide some scoring off the bench along with Juan Toscano-Anderson and rookies Cole Swider, Max Christie, and Scotty Pippen Jr. All of who will definitely help contribute to the bench production with scoring and defense with their length and versatility.
Looking at the roster though, the Lakers still don’t have that knockdown three-point shooter or shooters and that will be a problem for the Lakers this season like it was last season. History shows to get the best results from LeBron James and Russell Westbrook you must have knockdown shooters around them. As of right now, that’s not the case for the purple and gold.
Though the Lakers didn’t get the win and lost to the Kings 88-69, Ham appeared to be in good spirits after the game with what he saw from his Big 3 and the rest of the starters.
It is still uncertain whether or not Westbrook will remain a Laker, as the season approaches. Westbrook name is still floating around in trade rumors and probably will continue to until he’s either traded or not by the trading deadline. For now, it’s a waiting game to see how the Lakers front office will handle the Russell Westbrook situation. Personally, if it’s not the right player that fits the style of play of LeBron James, the Lakers should just ride out the Venice Beach wave with Russell Westbrook and see how far can this team be carried by James, Davis, and Westbrook.
I have the Lakers fighting for the 6th-8th seed winning 45-50 games this season.
