The Los Angeles Lakers spent most of the last week overseas, visiting the enthusiastic Chinese fans and treating them to two exhibition games. As fans in the United States, we have opportunities to watch and attend basketball events on a regular basis throughout the season. In China, the fans love the game of basketball just as much, but never get to witness the greatest professional superstars in the world. While preseason games come across to fans in America as meaningless, the Chinese look forward to the games all year. Seeing the reaction NBA teams receive by playing games in China often makes you feel as if the NBA Finals are being played. In two games against the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers drew a lot of fan attention but failed to get any wins.
Oct. 15 vs. Golden State Warriors 100, Lakers 95
Chris Kaman has looked aggressive on the boards for the Lakers, but the defensive presence is a question yet to be answered. (NBA.com photo)
In the weirdest and most entertaining preseason game yet for the Lakers, there was a mix of good and bad takeways in this one. On the positive side, this game illustrated the cohesiveness with Pau Gasol and Chris Kaman in the frontcourt. Gasol, the starting power forward for the game, played to his strengths and delivered quality offense on the block in the 27 minutes he played. He was able to score 15 points using his variety of post moves and get to the free throw line eight times, which will be one of the biggest keys for the Lakers this season. Not having Dwight Howard in the paint as a liability in late game situations, Los Angeles is now able to attack the rim using their big men and feel very confident that they can connect from the charity stripe. Kaman got the start alongside Gasol and posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. While we all know that Howard is the best double-double producer outside of Kevin Love, the Lakers now have a veteran center that is going to be content with any role Mike D’Antoni wants him to play. The fact that Kaman’s defense is a significant letdown compared to Howard is alarming to say the least, but his presence alone should help them work together better.
Rookie Ryan Kelly appeared for the first time as a Laker and scored six points on two 3-pointers, which we all expected Kelly to contribute on a professional level. Xavier Henry also came off the bench and played 28 minutes and knocking down three 3-pointers. If he gets any amount of playing time during the season with Kobe Bryant and Jodie Meeks in the rotation at shooting guard, there is no doubt the Lakers will have more perimeter weapons than most teams in the league.
The negative takeaway from this game was clearly the lack of defense in the paint. Golden State collected 40 points in the paint compared to the Lakers’ 18. Letting the other team more than double you in points in the paint never equals a recipe to winning, which is why nearly everyone has predicted the Lakers to struggle to reach 40 wins this season. Warriors’ forward David Lee racked up 31 points, most of which came in the first half, and shot 12-for-16 from the field. In a regular season matchup, this would be unacceptable. The Lakers, as well as any team in the preseason, are granted a pass on this one though, considering Gasol and Kaman didn’t even play close to the amount of minutes they will receive when the season starts.
Oct. 18 vs. Golden State 115, Lakers 89
On Friday’s game in front of a roaring China crowd, the Lakers played a fairly poor offensive game and a horrid defensive game. This entire game centered around 3-pointers, which is understandable considering Golden State was the opponent and they are a high-volume team from the perimeter. Offensively, the Lakers took too many outside shots, considering a good focus would have been to further develop the frontcourt chemistry and get Jordan Hill and Shawne Williams more comfortable. Once again, losing Howard points toward the frontcourt needing all the depth it can get and taking 24 3-pointers is something that can’t happen a lot this season. Of those 24 attempted, the Lakers connected on just six of them. The only player that scored in double figures for Los Angeles was Pau Gasol, who scored 16 and took only 10 shots. Gasol looks a lot better this preseason than he did last year battling injuries. Oddly enough, he has become Mike D’Antoni’s favorite player to talk about.
In the paint, Gasol will be extremely efficient this season as he has shown thus far. This is barring injuries, of course. (Photo Credit to Keith Allison, Flickr.com)
Defensively, the Lakers allowed 115 points due to the 3-point marathon the Warriors had on Friday. Golden State attempted 26 3-pointers (just two more than the Lakers), and nearly TRIPLED the amount that Los Angeles made. Shooting 15-for-26 from beyond the arc, I’m willing to say that you will never lose a basketball game. It is just preseason, but Mike D’Antoni better shape up his defense when it comes to perimeter discipline before opening night on Oct. 29. Why? Because the Clippers have two deadly shooters in their new starting lineup (J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley) that will gladly take any open shot the Lakers give them.
If D’Antoni is serious about being a better team than last season, he can’t appear to coach like “Antoni.” In other words, he better shape this team up on the “D” aspect of the game.
Kobe Bryant Update
While Kobe Bryant is yet to participate in full team activities on the basketball court, he has been increasing his work load through his individual training. Before Friday’s game, he ran sprints at full speed on the sidelines as the China crowd cheered and praised his comeback attempt.
Bryant has also been involved in solo shooting workouts, making sure his shot isn’t rusty when he does return. On his jump shots, he isn’t lifting with a lot of height, as he wants to make sure he builds the strength in his Achilles before exploding at a full jump. All in all, his work ethic has allowed him to be extremely ahead of schedule to return. No time table has been announced for Bryant, but Steve Nash‘s estimation seems to be “between opening night and Thanksgiving.” Thank You, Dr. Nash.