ÖA few of the guys spent the last weekend in Las Vegas so instead of writing anything original, we figured we’d rely on the audience for topics. So, without further ado, here is the first ever edition of the Lakers Outsiders mailbag.
Jeff Stephes asks (@jffstphns3) asks “has a SL team ever faced remotely as much pressure scrutiny, expectations, etc as this Lakers SL team?
Anthony: No. The Lakers have rarely needed to focus like this on the summer league. A better is question is if ANY summer league team has played under this kind of pressure. We were there for those first three games. Each one was a madhouse. I repeat: UNLV had to pull back the upper deck curtains because the interest was so extreme. Mind you, the games were played four hours from STAPLES Center.
The hot takes that have come about have been sufficient enough to match the weather in Las Vegas.
Dexter Cumberbatch (@DexterC73) asks “Can the Lakers afford to have Scott as coach for another season?”
Anthony: If I have to watch another one of those Princeton sets, I’ll show the characters from HBO’s “True Detective” what true depression looks like. Now, I don’t think it’s fair to criticize everything we saw on the court, but it’s more than fair to wonder why the hell the coaching staff would try to install so much strategic depth in four days.
I mean, I have to dumb down the show as much as possible whenever Harrison lets Matt out from behind his curtain of death. It just wouldn’t be fair.
So, to answer the question, yes they could technically afford for Scott to stick around this season. All the franchise is looking for is progress. Anything beyond this season if we see more of what we were tortured with on Monday is not worth the pain.
Robert Kester (@Garys_Dad) asks “what’s the over/under on wins for this year assuming everyone stays healthy?”
Anthony: I’ll answer your question with a question. How do you put up with Gary? I mean, it was only a weekend’s worth, but sheesh. (In all honesty it was nice meeting Gary and I had a blast the entire weekend)
In terms of wins, I’d say about 35 or so is a decent expectation. Again, this is only based on if the Lakers are all healthy, which we honestly can no longer expect with Kobe Bryant at this point. But if the miracle of health does take place, I’d be perfectly happy with the season if it ends with a double-digit win bump.
Zacharie St-Hubert (@zach_attack24) asks “Why do you think Russel(l) has struggled so far?”
Anthony: It’s mostly a matter of getting used to the athleticism at this level and that ridiculous offense. The holes in defense close exponentially more quickly in the NBA compared to collegiate athletics. He’s 19 years old. He’ll figure it out. Though it’d be nice to see the aforementioned ridiculous offense overhauled. And by “overhauled” I mean trashed, burnt and we can all act as if we’ve never seen it.
Tyle Hazlett (@tylerhazlett) asks “kobes retirement? Thoughts”
Anthony: This is by far the most interesting aspect of this season. The youth’s development happens every year for any given team. But a franchise figuring out it needs its superstar less than the other way around? When has that happened, ever? Let’s see how this plays out. But it’s ridiculously fascinating.
