Alright, as usual we have nba.com power ratings here. It's quite fun to follow these ratings over the course of the season, and it seems this year we start higher than usual. Most nba journalists like the team, so here we go (#1-#4 are DEN, MIL, BOS & PHX): #5 Los Angeles LakersLast Week:5 2022-23 record: 43-39 OffRtg: 113.9 (19) DefRtg: 113.2 (12) NetRtg: +0.7 (16) Pace: 101.9 (4) With an impressive re-shuffling of the roster at the trade deadline last season, the Lakers went from 13th place to the Western Conference finals. With the new group together for a full season, they shouldn’t have to dig out of such a big hole. Preseason takeaways With Jarred Vanderbilt (heel soreness) missing the last five games of the preseason, Taurean Prince grabbed hold of the fifth starting spot. He shot well (effective field goal percentage of 72.1%) and the Lakers’ starting-unit minutes were generally strong. On the other hand, the Lakers were really bad with some of their reserves – Cam Reddish and Christian Wood, in particular – on the floor. The one teammate with whom Wood had good on-court numbers was Anthony Davis. The Lakers were a plus-12 in the two bigs’ 35 minutes together, despite the team shooting just 8-for-23 from 3-point range in those minutes. D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura all had strong preseasons, so maybe there is some carryover from the playoffs. Something to watch in Week 1: Defending the Nuggets’ two-man game. The Western Conference is deep, but everything still goes through Denver. And the Lakers will need to find a way to slow down the best two-man game in the league. Jokic and Jamal Murray combined to average 60.3 points (with more than three times as many assists as turnovers) as the eventual champs swept the Lakers in the conference finals. The Lakers’ Week 1 schedule — games against the Nuggets, Suns and Kings — is about as fun as it gets. Week 1: @ DEN, vs. PHX, @ SAC
