2023-24 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

On a more positive note...

LOS ANGELES – Following a Western Conference finals run fueled by an elite defense, the Los Angeles Lakers entered this past offseason with a key goal in mind: to revamp their middling offense.

Through four preseason games, the results have been impressive. There is a tangible shift in Los Angeles’ identity, with the offense looking far more potent than the defense as the team acclimates to the start of the 2023-24 season.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Our offense might be a little bit ahead of our defense right now,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham admitted before the Lakers’ 129-125 preseason loss to the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena Friday.

For years, the scouting report against the Lakers has been to pack the paint against LeBron James and Anthony Davis and cajole a supporting cast who usually possessed limited shooting aptitude into beating them. Outside of their championship season, when they ranked in the middle of the pack, the Lakers have been a bottom-10 3-point shooting team in terms of volume and percentage. They’ve succeeded at times in spite of their offensive limitations, with defensive-minded role players doing the dirty work as James and Davis carry most of the offensive load.

But with Austin Reaves’ emergence as a legitimate third option over the second half of last season, the trade deadline additions (and re-signings) of D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura and the offseason additions of Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince and Christian Wood, the Lakers are confident they have more offensive firepower than at any point in the James-Davis era.


GO DEEPER

State of the Lakers: 10 most important storylines to monitor this season

With the required caveat that preseason basketball doesn’t always translate into the regular season and the acknowledgment that four games is a minuscule sample size, the early returns on the Lakers’ offense are that this season’s group won’t suffer from the same fate as previous iterations.

Over the five quarters that the Lakers have played a semi-regular rotation – the first half against Brooklyn and the first three quarters against Golden State – they have scored 177 points. That averages out to 35.4 points per quarter, or 141.6 points per game. They’ve scored at least 30 points in all five quarters, effortlessly creating wide-open 3-point looks, getting to the rim and drawing fouls (they were 21 of 33 from the free-throw line in the first three quarters against the Warriors). That scoring pace is unsustainable, but last season’s group rarely flashed this type of offensive potential.

ADVERTISEMENT


Part of the early improvement is because of continuity, with most of the rotation having played together last season. Part of it is because of the roster improvements around that core, with the additions of Vincent, Prince and Wood. Part of it is because of Ham, in his second season, having more time to tweak his offensive system to better fit his more consistent personnel.

“It’s the habits and the connectivity,” Ham said of the team’s offensive progress. “We do a lot of breakdowns, whether it’s two-man pick-and-rolls, three-man actions, four and five-man actions, we script a lot and we constantly work on concepts and reads. Having the type of team that we have – everyone can dribble, pass and shoot – just that unselfishness, moving the ball, that all it comes down to. … As long as that camaraderie, continuity and communication on the offensive side of the ball continues to grow and build, there’s no doubt in my mind the sky’s the limit.”


GO DEEPER

`We’ve re-established the competitive gene': Lakers embrace expectations after productive summer

Six Lakers scored in double figures against the Warriors: Prince (17 points), Reaves (16), Davis (13), Wood (13), James (12) and Russell (12). Los Angeles made nine 3s in the first quarter, matching their season-high for a quarter last season. (They made nine 3s in the first quarter on March 14, 2023 – also known as the “Malik Beasley game.”). That comes just two games after the Lakers made 20 3-pointers against the Nets, more than they made in any regular-season or playoff game last season.

Preseason defenses aren’t exactly the Bad Boys Pistons, but the Lakers’ shooting improvement seems legitimate. Even without Vincent, who missed Friday’s game because of back tightness, 10 different Lakers made 3s against the Warriors, including all five starters. The newcomers are helping, with Prince (50 percent from 3 on 4.5 attempts per game this preseason) and Vincent (37.5 percent on 5.3 attempts) shooting well and prominently featuring into the rotation. Most importantly, Davis, whose jump shot is the key to the Lakers’ playoff offense, has made four of his eight attempts over three games.

ADVERTISEMENT


Lineup data isn’t available for the preseason on NBA.com, but four of the Lakers’ five starters have offensive ratings that would’ve led the NBA last season when extrapolated to a team context: Davis (the Lakers have scored 127.1 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor), Reaves (124.8), Russell (123.8) and Prince (119.2). Interestingly, James is the only starter with a below-average offensive rating (110.8, which would’ve ranked 27th leaguewide).

With Russell and Reaves running the show as primary ballhandlers in pick-and-roll and side-to-side actions, James and Davis have frequently been used as finishers, spotting up and back-cutting for their points. That helps preserve their legs for defense and crunch time. The team is also playing at a much faster pace and its assist percentage is up slightly, indicating an increase in ball movement and better shot quality.

“Anytime you can play with a group of guys longer, you build that chemistry,” Reaves said. “You build just really the feel of playing as a unit. That leads to not a good shot, but a great (one). So we try to preach a lot of good-to-great. … We’ve brought in guys that can really shoot the ball and play the right way. So it’s really a testament to all of that.”

It’s possible the Lakers traded some of their defensive effectiveness for offensive proficiency, though the defensive downgrade at backup point guard from Dennis Schröder to Vincent is minimal because Vincent is a capable on-ball defender in his own right. If that occurs, it’s probably a fair, if necessary tradeoff. An elite defense will always be an important championship ingredient, but an elite offense, and particularly an elite 3-point shooting team, has become just as important of an ingredient, if not more, for modern title contenders.

Of course, Ham will always be a defensive-first coach, and Davis, one of the game’s best defenders and rim protectors, gives the team one of the strongest foundations in the NBA. But the Lakers have been long overdue in needing to modernizing their offense, and it’s clear through four preseason games that this group is on track to doing so.

ADVERTISEMENT


“We have a plethora of guys that can carry that (offensive) load and we’re going to need every one of them,” Ham said. “Every person in that locker room we’re going to lean on them if we plan on this being a nine-month journey.”

(Top photo: Kiyoshi Mio / USA Today)

 

You feel the hate ? I do !

 

lol ok.

i think the thunder projections are fascinating. some have them finishing outside the top 10 (i think that's too low), but some have them top 4 (that's too high).

and people really need ask themselves if the kings are going to repeat that injury luck.

 

Kings? Thunder? OK Reggie.

basically this.

Kings could repeat that success and even build on it, they're young. It could happen. But I don't think it will and certainly wouldn't bet on it. They had one of the healthiest seasons they've had in the past 20 years. Teams don't get that lucky in consecutive seasons.

Thunder likely won't be ahead of 3 teams from that "2nd tier. " They're up and coming and I think SGA is a legit MVP candidate this year, but to put them in the mix with the tier 1 is blasphemy.

 

Let see how Lakers will look vs freak and Lillard.Is it finals preview?

 

Went looking for some info on 2 way contracts and found this handy link from July ….

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2023/07/2023-24-nba-two-way-contract-tracker.html

 

Speaking of this and after thankfully checking the TV schedule in my rag LA Times .... it's a 4PM Pacific tip off on ESPN, Kids. That overpriced paper probably saved me from missing what I assumed would have been a scheduled recording I have for Spectrum Sports Net later in the evening.

 

There are some surprising names on that list.

Two that strike me as guys who left college too soon are Amari Bailey and Johnny Yuzang. Amari especially. Not sure Yuzang really had enough defense to ever be good in the big leagues but he seemed like a heck of an offensive player. Amari was the ONE guy on UCLA who could get his own shot when needed. He had not fully worked himself into being the best college player he could be and feel like if he would have stuck around, he had the chance to become a lotto pick. Seeing him on a two way makes me feel like he has blown his career. Hope I am wrong.

 

LeBron and Austin are not playing.
Save your DVR/VCR or DVD for something else

 

Thank you …. No

 

Great scouting staff by the Lakers

Always seem to find gems in the 2nd round or guys undrafted as this shows

 

If we don’t end up in the top four in the West, it means we had to deal with a lot of injuries.

 

Well it's totally wrong...
Milwaukee point guard Damian Lillard confirmed to Bleacher Report insider Chris Haynes that Portland asked him to sit out the final 10 games of the 2022-23 season to give the organization a better shot at landing a high draft pick, speaking with Sportskeeda's Mark Medina . The guard "reluctantly agreed", citing a calf injury.

Portland lost 9 of its last 10 regular-season games (the only game it won, against Minnesota, was the most unexpected victory in the NBA in the last 30 years). The Blazers had the third pick in the draft, adding point guard Scoot Henderson .

– Do you feel physically recovered from injuries from last season?

– I had no injuries last season.

- Logical. I saw Chris [Haynes] article...

– (interrupts) I was not injured. To be honest, I wasn’t. At the beginning of the season I had some problems with my calf muscle. But I wasn't injured.

- But this is...

- This is true. I was healthy all summer. This is true.
Would he or Portland get fined ?..

 

I feel like Portland deserves a fine.

 

Their fine is a losers mentality. That punishment never goes away.

 

Well damn, this ends my push for Josh Jackson to get a shot (wouldn't be here anyway, we're all stocked up on wings)

 

the irony to me is that i think they did it as a way to try to keep lillard/become more competitive. and now lillard is acting like he was forced into it kicking and screaming. he knew what was going on and went along. he could have said i'm healthy and wish to play. this guy gets the kid gloves from fans, imo.