In this episode of the Laker Film Room Podcast, Pete and I talk about the Lakers preseason games vs. the Nets in China and dive into some of the lineup questions we have after having three games of data to dig into.
We start out talking about the Lakers guards, specifically getting into whether any of the guards, to this point, have really stood out above the rest. We talk both sides of the ball here, highlighting some of what we think has gone well and what’s not gone as great.
We then talk about some X’s and O’s stuff, specifically talking about Rajon Rondo, his command of the offense, and how to best deploy in lineups with and without LeBron James. We then discuss some of the actions Frank Vogel is using and whether those fit the strengths of the players he has at his disposal (hint: they don’t).
We then get into how injuries to Quinn Cook and Kyle Kuzma have impacted lineup construction and whether either player coming back could have a tangible impact on how some of the sets Vogel is using can be better optimized. While we really want to see both Cook and Kuzma back, we highlight some of Kuzma’s strengths and how he can be someone who fills a real void offensively, particularly in the wake of what we saw from the team in China.
This was a good episode that I really enjoyed, even if it skewed a bit more negative than where I believe Pete and I actually are with this team right now. I think both Pete and I are still very high on the Lakers right now, but it is more than fair to acknowledge some of the unevenness we’ve seen so far, particularly from Vogel as he’s sorting things out with an incomplete roster during the preseason.
You can listen to the full pod below.
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