Los Angeles Lakers: 3 takeaways from 2018-19 season opener

1. Roster concerns are legit

The two main question marks with this Los Angeles Lakers roster were their lack of 3-point shooters and big men. These two roster concerns were put on display in the opening night loss, especially with the limited amount of shooters on the floor.

The Lakers didn’t make a 3-pointer until there was 2:22 remaining in the third quarter, when Josh Hart connected from deep. They finished the night 7-for-30 on 3-point attempts, a number that won’t win you many games in the NBA these days. Yes, they missed open looks, but no players on the team came into the season considered serious threats from deep and teams will begin to sag off into the paint until the Lakers hit their shots from a consistent clip.

As for the big man situation, JaVale McGee did the best he could to hold down the paint, including some highlight dunks, but playing Kyle Kuzma as your backup 5 is a bold strategy most nights. It can work in some matchups, but the Portland Trail Blazers constantly attacked the paint with no shot-blocking threat roaming around the rim.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1053129994254405632

The Lakers want to play small and will switch everything defensively, but the Blazers were very smart in their offensive approach. They posted up Evan Turner and their other wings on the Lakers smaller built guards, causing foul calls or getting solid looks at the rim.

The Blazers were a regression candidate heading into the season, but they are an offensive juggernaut as long as Damian Lillard (28 points) and CJ McCollum (21 points) are in the game. They took advantage of the Lakers lack of effort and size throughout the contest and rode some surprise shooting from Nik Stauskas (24 points, 5-for-8 on 3-point attempts) as well as great play from Zach Collins off the bench.

This could improve as the season prolongs, but just like the shooting, will be a point of weakness that opponents will attack until the Lakers address their rim-protecting issue.