Our goals going into Friday night’s preseason finale are: lakers To get some info on what Russell Westbrook looked like in the second unit. However, Westbrook’s lone stint lasted his five minutes, returning to his locker room during the first quarter and missing the rest of the game with a left hamstring injury.
The Lakers missed Westbrook on a night already missing Anthony Davis, Lonnie Walker IV, Dennis Schrader and Troy Brown Jr. Basketball winning brand. After trailing him by 30 points in their last matchup against the Kings, the Lakers were again rocked by Sacramento, losing 133-86.
No box score was available for this game. It’s a fitting tribute to a game that was too bad to warrant a lasting record.
But we’re still here to talk about the Lakers! Here’s what stood out in Game 6, the team’s preseason finale.
Durbin Hamm gave up on rehearsals
The Lakers started rookie Max Christie, qualified Matt Ryan for the first quarter, and deployed a South Bay unit early in the third quarter. Injuries forced Ham’s hand, but aside from this delightful and-one from Austin Reeves, the rotation players didn’t inspire enough to warrant more time either.
The only thing we learned about the Lakers’ probable starting lineup was a little Nugget sideline reporter Mike Trudell dropped after halftime that Lonnie Walker IV should be part of it. is. The Lakers may not have wanted to risk playing against the Kings to ensure Walker’s opening against the Warriors, as they did against Davis.
lebron looks good
This is a reminder that LeBron James will be 38 this year and has 20 seasons in the NBA. With no other Max of his players in the starting five, James simply started the game at the fadeaway jumper clinic.
James has been pretty consistent throughout preseason, and that trend continues. He scored his 12 points in his 18 minutes and fulfilled Stu’s pre-game key to staying fit, even though the Lakers finished the game 27 behind him. Ideally, there would have been more aggressive moves to prevent James from playing hero his ball, but it’s still fun to see the king cooking even in exhibitions.
Half court defense needs ingenuity
It was encouraging for the Lakers to return to transition and stop some of the Kings’ fast-break chances, but the half-court defense was a wreck, so it didn’t make much of a difference. De’Aaron Fox had no answer, whether he was shooting a jumper from the field or sliding towards the basket. Sacramento hosted a shooting clinic from a distance, led by the aptly named Trey Lyles, and the Lakers didn’t do themselves any favors by repeatedly sending their hosts down the foul line.
LA had to play traditional center more often in Davis’ absence, but neither Damian Jones nor Thomas Bryant fared so well. Bullied by Sabonis, Bryant seemed powerless to keep up with the Kings’ tempo.
In all fairness, no teammate was equipped to defend what was the best team in the league during the preseason. Holmes or another King was put in place to collect the offensive rebound.
Defensive ends are the first thing Hamm and his coaching staff deal with before the actual game begins. There are only four days left.
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