Before the season kicked off, had you looked at the schedule and saw that the Los Angeles Lakers were going to travel to Portland for the Trail Blazers’ home opener, then play the Houston Rockets, and then face the San Antonio Spurs, given how many things the team is trying figure out on the fly, an 0-3 start wouldn’t have been that surprising.
Right after the game, Harrison and I recorded the latest episode of “The Lake Show” and then after that, I recorded today’s “Locked on Lakers.” In both shows, it was important to keep the above context in mind when analyzing where the Lakers currently stand.
It isn’t like they’re getting blown out. In all the games they’ve played thus far, they’ve had chances to win late. So if that’s the starting point, I still find myself optimistic about where they currently stand. Obviously at some point I’d prefer they start winning some of these games, but this is at least a decent starting point.
Still, there has been stuff to glean from these last few games and last night’s game specifically.
First and foremost (and get ready to hear a lot about this over the course of the season), the Lakers need an NBA-caliber backup center. JaVale McGee found himself in foul trouble, and at one point the season flashed before my eyes because he took a hard fall.
With all due respect to McGee, no season should flash before their eyes because JaVale McGee took a tumble.
Next, I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Kyle Kuzma showed out the way he did once moved into the starting lineup. The question becomes what we’d have to see from him to start to ask the question of whether a move into the starting lineup makes sense.
In this week’s “The Lake Show,” Harrison and I talk to Jared Greenberg of NBATV about what’s been an absolutely insane start to the NBA season. We have some fun about “Spitgate,” discuss whether the suspensions resulting from those altercations might set the wrong tone and talk about LeBron being a Laker and the general fallout from those two brands colliding. That was a really fun conversation.
As always, this is just a tidbit of the full context given in the shows. Listen to the full discussions below and please check out old episodes, or guarantee you won’t miss any ever again by subscribing to either “The Lake Show” or “Locked on Lakers” on iTunes.