A Few Pre-Preseason Notes

Well, here we are. The offseason has finally passed (kind of) and the Lakers finally play their first live basketball since the summer league. All the pieces we’ve hypothetically pieced together will share a court at last, so here are some things I’ll be looking for.

Minutes:

If you’ve followed my tweets at all, I’ve been skeptical of how Byron’s run camp thus far. In my opinion, with the mixture of veterans and youth all trying to learn the system together with little to no actual expectations this season, I don’t understand the need to extend practices for any reason. Strategically, there’s no need to squeeze extra sets in before the first of several meaningless games. In terms of conditioning, that tends to come as an 82-game season rolls along.

So you can imagine my distaste as we heard D’Angelo Russell gave it a go in the second practice in the same day after limping off the court only hours prior. I just don’t understand the necessity to get back on the court so quickly given (a) recent history and (b) how many hours will be spent in the gym in the coming months, anyway.

Back to the point at hand, though.

I’ll be interested to see how minutes are dolled out in this first game simply out of curiosity for whatever precedent might be set Sunday. There’s no reason to play to win, so veterans shouldn’t get extended minutes and younger players who know they have a spot on the roster should be played conservatively as well, in my opinion. This first game should be used to see what guys at the end of the roster offer, with cuts coming soon.

Offensive Ideology:

In Las Vegas, we heard a few sideways quotes about learning the offense and the frustrations that typically follow said process. The most logical criticism at the time was of the coaching staff trying to implement so many levels to the Princeton offense in so short a time. It will be interesting to see on Sunday whether the coaching staff learned from that experience or is still okay with watching the team struggling early for a later gain.

I’m not particularly sure which would be more productive on Sunday, though with a gun to my head I’d probably side with a more simplistic approach both for confidence’s sake and to avoid giving too much away too early.

Still, though, minutes featuring the ideal lineup of D’Angelo Russell (if he plays), Jordan Clarkson, Kobe Bryant, Julius Randle and Roy Hibbert will be especially intriguing just for a glimpse of which direction that lineup goes in as the season progresses.

Reaction to the Youth:

This is more on the fans. I’ve written a couple times this offseason how vital it is to this team for fans to temper expectations. Heading into Summer League, all the pressure and hype surrounding the Lakers reached insane levels. While the atmosphere in Vegas was incredible, the quote from Randle, Russell and Clarkson afterward were those of players who felt like they let people down.

Sure, they could have played better. This is obvious. But letting fans down in an exhibition series following a week’s worth of practice speaks more to said fans than players.

Friday night, Emmanuel Mudiay struggled against Chris Paul in his first actual NBA action. Crazy, I know. In no way, shape or form should this be considered any kind of step back. So, when Russell, Randle and even Clarkson struggle Sunday (and they most definitely will), any and all “bust” talk is better serve screamed into pillows than onto the court or into the Twitter/blogosphere.

Let’s reserve judgment for at least a couple games from now. It’s tough to play in the NBA. It seems stupid for me to point that out, but it feels worth writing, crazily enough.

Kobe:

Last but not least, I personally can’t wait to see what kind of Kobe we see on Sunday. We’ve heard quotes about playing alongside two creators like Russell and Clarkson. At the end of the day, though, we’re going to be watching Kobe learn a relatively new position alongside brand new teammates. How he handles this will be insanely interesting.

And, to touch on my first note, I’m interested to see how many minutes Byron rolls Bryant out there for. We should see precious few minutes, but it’s hard not to say “you just never know when Scott coaches Kobe”. It is worth noting in last preseason, Byron was pretty conservative with Kobe’s minutes Bryant played 21 minutes in 2014’s preseason opener). I can’t see any circumstance where that doesn’t take place once again on Sunday.

Combine all these things and Sunday is one of the more interesting Lakers games we’ve seen in quite some time. Let’s not confuse interest with import, though as this team still has innumerable wrinkles to iron out.