At least we aren't asking a single rookie to carry the load of being a Laker. These 3 youngsters can grow together and spread that pressure.
The good thing about it with his abilities, if he could just put those very simple but very hard to defend moves into his game he would constantly demand double teams. Get them down where he is doing them without hesitation or thinking and then add a few more. Getting Worthy involved was a great idea. It is easy to see he is a true Laker that really wants the team to do well. Not a band wagoner that comes and goes like the tides.
Yeah bringing Worthy in was a great move. Worthy loves to teach, but only to people who want to learn. So far this group has been absolutely receptive and Julius seems to be a sponge for knowledge. He's almost already a double-team threat. His first step is fantastic and once he starts getting a better rhythm for the game at this level he's going to be amazing. Right now he's one of those youngsters you look at and say "uh oh... he's going to be trouble in a couple years".
I thought he had too many turnovers tonight, but still a nice offensive showing out there. And decent boards and assists as well. I like Randle the playmaker.
It's crazy how often the ball runs through him offensively right now. More than Clarkson and Kobe I think.
True, I think they'll scale that back a little once Russell rejoins the starters. But I like the fact that he's getting the opportunity right now - he's a versatile player and he's showing it.
Shocker, only hope he can stay relatively healthy all season. And dang, he can't shoot. No wonder he has stopped taking jumpers the last few games, it's like he has no confidence in his shot. He's going to need to get that shot going eventually or teams are going to let him have room there and not let him drive into the lane.
Honestly that's a shame. I blame the losing culture in Philly. An engaged, healthy Embiid could be very good for the league. Maybe Okafor will rub off on him. On the Lakers front, I love gym rats. Hungry gym rats are even better. Seems nearly all of our young kids are from that cloth. We really lucked out with a lot of these guys. We are building a culture of dedication, hard work, conditioning, and responsibility which all the young'ns seem to be gobbling up; Philly breeds a culture of tanking.
