Podcast: The Lakers keep impressing in the preseason

LeBron James and Anthony Davis finally made their 2020-21 preseason debuts, and though the pair of them had an excellent stint in the first half of the Lakers’ win over Phoenix, the story of the night was once again the team’s young players, specifically Kyle Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker.

On this week’s episode of “I Love Basketball," infamous Kuzma skeptic Anthony Irwin and Sabreena Merchant go over the performances of the Lakers young core and set some pretty high expectations for them and the team as a whole this season.

They begin with Kuzma, who got the start at shooting guard, and still seemed perfectly capable of playing alongside James, Davis, and Marc Gasol, thanks to his ability to move of the ball along with his hot shooting streak to start the year. They discussed how Kuzma, to his credit, has once again tried to morph into a different role to be what this team needs, and how there are increasing signs that he could become a 3-and-D player.

Anthony and Sabreena then moved on to the man of the hour, Talen Horton-Tucker, who shook off a slow start Wednesday before taking over with 13 second-half points as he helped direct L.A.’s comeback late. They go over what is most impressive about Horton-Tucker, whether it’s his finishing, his poise, or simply his ability to meet the moment.

By the end of the show, the hype train is nearly out of control, but hey, the Lakers are defending champions and they’re acting like they still have something to prove. That's plenty of reason to be a little excited.

You can listen to the full episode below, and to make sure you never miss a show, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.

You can follow your hosts on Twitter at @AnthonyIrwinLA and @sabreenajm.