What did we learn about the Lakers in the preseason?
By Amaar Burton
Led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers are about to begin their most important season since the Kobe Bryant era.
For the Los Angeles Lakers — and every other team in the NBA — there’s a thin line between meaningful exhibition basketball and “It’s just preseason.”
The preseason can sometimes offer an accurate preview of what’s to come in the regular season; other times it can seem like a waste of time for everyone except those fringe players desperately trying to make a roster.
The Lakers face championship-level expectations in 2019-20 that are frankly bigger than any end-of-the-bench roster hopeful. Boasting two of the league’s top superstars, a new cast of role players, a new coaching staff and new front-office structure, the Lakers are widely projected to compete for a title for the first time since Kobe Bryant was in his prime.
The Lakers went 3-3 in the preseason, a slate of six games that saw them face the Golden State Warriors four times and the Brooklyn Nets twice, splitting the time between California and China.
Frank Vogel will start Bradley, Green, LeBron, AD and McGee, the same group that started the preseason opener at GSW. He thinks they have a chance to be “elite defensively” with that unit, and it allows him to stagger LeBron and Rondo as the playmakers for respective units.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 17, 2019
Third-year forward Kyle Kuzma remains sidelined by a foot injury, which means we still haven’t seen L.A.’s ideal lineup or rotation.
The superstar tandem of LeBron James and Anthony Davis got in some court time together, but they were also given days off to rest. Former All-NBA center DeMarcus Cousins and his torn ACL actually spent time on the bench in his warm-ups, sitting there as a big tease of the super-team that could’ve been.
The chase for championship No. 17 begins for real when the Lakers open the regular season on Tuesday against the LA Clippers, but there were some things to take away from the preseason that could factor into the Lakers’ fortunes.