Finally. The NBA preseason has been underway as teams are pacing and spacing the floor. This newer, faster, smaller, NBA basketball overall is a tad different than the way the game was played a decade or two ago. A lot more "European", if that makes any sense (you'd have to watch the Euro/ACB Leagues or Olympics a lot). Teams are living by the 3, deciding not to take that long two-point shot, and playing smaller for a majority of the games as a result of the Warriors winning the title in that fashion. With the game ever evolving and team elements increasing, one can't help but wonder what will become of the Lakers in future years.
So how will the men in purple and gold fair this year? Is it fair to expect them to make the playoffs?
Sadly, even as a big Laker fan, I do not see playoff games again this season. Luckily, that doesn't bother me as the Lakers finally have a nice young core group of players full of untapped potential, as
well as Kobe's expiring contract (among others) which will give the Lakers a huge amount of cap space in next summers "Kevin Durant free agent sweepstakes". The last few years looked bleak, with last year capping off a Lakers worse ever in franchise history 21 wins. It wasn't pretty, not one bit, and Kobe is a part shell of himself. He's still got game, but he needs to play off the ball at this stage in his career, but more importantly he needs to play more than 8 games in this possible "final" season.
Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba. Mama there goes that man. His last season... possibly. I think he has finally taken a mental half backseat to the "entire team", meaning he will try his best to play as a teammate and utilize the new assets on the team as well as trust the young guards with the ball a lot more. I do expect Kobe to still score 20 points a game, but I also expect him to do it a little more efficiently and with much more catch and shoot and fast break buckets. Sure he'll isolate still, but nothing like the past.
This actually should have all of us excited. That means we get to see rookie 2nd overall pick D'Angelo Russel play a lot in the right spot with the ball, as well as 2nd year 1st Team All-Rookie Jordan Clarkson (2nd round pick last year). These two are a great match in the backcourt and should very possibly be the Lakers backcourt of the future. Throw in number 5 pick Julius Randle who qualifies as a rookie that can win the Rookie Of The Year award as well (he played 11 minutes last season in game 1 before season ending injury as a rookie, thus still a rookie). Even this years second rounder Anthony Brown looks like he could develop into a solid role playing forward that is shooting the three-point shot with great touch.
Let's analyze the picks made and off-season moves that currently makeup the Lakers squad....
-2nd Overall Draft Pick in the 2015 Draft
Not many expected the Lakers to move up in the draft, nor did they expect the Lakers to take a 6'5'' 19 year old lefty Point-Guard over the highly touted 7 footer Jahill Okafor who was expected to go second after Karl Anthony Towns. While D'Angelo Russel has been up and down in preseason, you can tell all he needs is a season under his belt and he'll already be a great PG in this league. He plays very smooth, has a very high basketball IQ, see's the floor extremely well like a Nash or Magic, and his passing skills are bar none better than any rookie I have seen in the last few seasons already. His jumper needs work but he has 3pt range, and come half-way through the season I expect him to start doing some fun and amazing things.
-The Diamond in the Rough: Jordan Clarkson
Not very often does a mid-late second round pick end up making an NBA roster after training camp, let alone becoming apart of the teams normal game rotation during the season. "JC" did both and more, improving each month, starting at PG post All-Star Break and putting up great numbers and games. Named to the All-Rookie 1st Team, he was truly the only positive thing about last season. The 6'5'' combo guard is a perfect running partner for D'Angelo, as they can share the ball handling duties if needed as well as switch up defensive matchups whenever they like. Clarkson's Per36 Minutes stats last year were quite impressive:
Per 36: 17.1 points, 5.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.2 steals, on 45%FG and 83%FT
He just turned 23 and has his best years ahead of him, and he has come into the preseason looking bigger, stronger, and more mature and consistent. Just knowing we have a proven starting caliber guard in JC who is a "youngin" gives us Laker fans some hope for the future. Combine him with D'Angelo Russel and you've got 2 of the 3 pieces you need for the core future of this Lakers franchise.
So how will the men in purple and gold fair this year? Is it fair to expect them to make the playoffs?
Sadly, even as a big Laker fan, I do not see playoff games again this season. Luckily, that doesn't bother me as the Lakers finally have a nice young core group of players full of untapped potential, as well as Kobe's expiring contract (among others) which will give the Lakers a huge amount of cap space in next summers "Kevin Durant free agent sweepstakes". The last few years looked bleak, with last year capping off a Lakers worse ever in franchise history 21 wins. It wasn't pretty, not one bit, and Kobe is a part shell of himself. He's still got game, but he needs to play off the ball at this stage in his career, but more importantly he needs to play more than 8 games in this possible "final" season.
Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba. Mama there goes that man. His last season... possibly. I think he has finally taken a mental half backseat to the "entire team", meaning he will try his best to play as a teammate and utilize the new assets on the team as well as trust the young guards with the ball a lot more. I do expect Kobe to still score 20 points a game, but I also expect him to do it a little more efficiently and with much more catch and shoot and fast break buckets. Sure he'll isolate still, but nothing like the past.
This actually should have all of us excited. That means we get to see rookie 2nd overall pick D'Angelo Russel play a lot in the right spot with the ball, as well as 2nd year 1st Team All-Rookie Jordan Clarkson (2nd round pick last year). These two are a great match in the backcourt and should very possibly be the Lakers backcourt of the future. Throw in number 5 pick Julius Randle who qualifies as a rookie that can win the Rookie Of The Year award as well (he played 11 minutes last season in game 1 before season ending injury as a rookie, thus still a rookie). Even this years second rounder Anthony Brown looks like he could develop into a solid role playing forward that is shooting the three-point shot with great touch.
Let's analyze the picks made and off-season moves that currently makeup the Lakers squad....
-2nd Overall Draft Pick in the 2015 Draft
Not many expected the Lakers to move up in the draft, nor did they expect the Lakers to take a 6'5'' 19 year old lefty Point-Guard over the highly touted 7 footer Jahill Okafor who was expected to go second after Karl Anthony Towns. While D'Angelo Russel has been up and down in preseason, you can tell all he needs is a season under his belt and he'll already be a great PG in this league. He plays very smooth, has a very high basketball IQ, see's the floor extremely well like a Nash or Magic, and his passing skills are bar none better than any rookie I have seen in the last few seasons already. His jumper needs work but he has 3pt range, and come half-way through the season I expect him to start doing some fun and amazing things.
-The Diamond in the Rough: Jordan Clarkson
Not very often does a mid-late second round pick end up making an NBA roster after training camp, let alone becoming apart of the teams normal game rotation during the season. "JC" did both and more, improving each month, starting at PG post All-Star Break and putting up great numbers and games. Named to the All-Rookie 1st Team, he was truly the only positive thing about last season. The 6'5'' combo guard is a perfect running partner for D'Angelo, as they can share the ball handling duties if needed as well as switch up defensive matchups whenever they like. Clarkson's Per36 Minutes stats last year were quite impressive:
Per 36: 17.1 points, 5.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.2 steals, on 45%FG and 83%FT
He just turned 23 and has his best years ahead of him, and he has come into the preseason looking bigger, stronger, and more mature and consistent. Just knowing we have a proven starting caliber guard in JC who is a "youngin" gives us Laker fans some hope for the future. Combine him with D'Angelo Russel and you've got 2 of the 3 pieces you need for the core future of this Lakers franchise.
Comments
Post a Comment