The Lakers opened the 2016-17 preseason with a resounding win over the Kings thanks to a second-half surge.
After the game, the Lakers Outsiders staff took to our slack to talk about our takeaways and impressions of the game.
Jacob Rude
Alright, with one game down, it’s clear the Lakers are destined for 82-0 and an NBA title. What is your biggest takeaway from preseason game one?
Drew Hernandez
Larry Nance Jr is easily the 2nd greatest player in the world after Zubac
Thai Luong
Jordan Clarkson actually played solid defense today
Dillon Hiser
I was mainly impressed by the energy of the bench unit, the first half was so sloppy but guys like LNJ & Tarik Black really pulled the team together.
Jacob Rude
Who knew not yelling “Man up!” and working on defensive fundamentals at players leads to them making plays defensively!
Honi Ahmadian
Tarik “balls out” Black is gonna be the backup center and that makes me extrremely happy
Jacob Rude
But seriously, the unit with Ingram-Nance-Black played with insane energy, made a lot of defensive stops and got the Lakers the lead
Which is like three things that didn’t happen last year
Dillon Hiser
Also, I may or may not be a huge fan of starting Anthony Brown..I also may or may not have contemplated buying his jersey after tonight.
Thai Luong
Ingram had a solid game even though he struggled on offense. Contributed nicely of defense. And was unselfish
Jacob Rude
AB hitting threes is incredibly encouraging.
Thai Luong
And the bench loved it, too!!
Dillon Hiser
Yeah, the defensive intensity seemed to be the driving force to the comeback.
Grant Goldberg
Timo is better than prime Shaq
Drew Hernandez
The biggest thing that stood out to me was that the Lakers don’t have to shoot well individually to win. They can stay in the game with energy,ball movement and smart basketball . Something that wasn’t there last year
Jacob Rude
If you had to give Timo an extension now, how far over $100 million would you be willing to go?
Drew Hernandez
Probably another couple 100
Honi Ahmadian
No comment.
Grant Goldberg
He outplayed his contract in one preseason game
Drew Hernandez
By that math he’s worth over 5 billion a year
Jacob Rude
Drew is right, though. The Lakers were pretty terrible offensively for much of the game and won because they turned the Kings over and scored in transition
How many times did that happen last year?
Drew Hernandez
Kobes last game
RIP
Thai Luong
Maybe like 3-4
Grant Goldberg
And because the Kings sat their starters in the second half
Thai Luong
Who Drew?
Dillon Hiser
As much as it pains me to say this, but #TheCatalyst should stay off the court and concede his minutes to Jose Calderon. Guy is a legit spacer on the floor with a high IQ and he played solid defense a couple of times. More than you can say for Huertas.
Jacob Rude
Huertas isn’t a great fit for this offense.
Drew Hernandez
He’s a bigger threat to shoot than Huertas as well
Thai Luong
I agree with that.
Jacob Rude
There really isn’t a spot for someone who only shoots threes backwards
Thai Luong
Calderon also provides great leadership
Drew Hernandez
Maybe for the Sixers there is
Honi Ahmadian
Well there go my chances of being on the Lakers
Thai Luong
He was talking a lot on the court
Jacob Rude
Thomas Robinson made a big impression on me, too
He hustled, made some plays in the post and looked like a great fit
Honi Ahmadian
Thomas Robinson is my homeboy.
Grant Goldberg
He was the best player in the last 7 minutes (the only part I watched)
Drew Hernandez
In your opinion who was most disappointing out of the top 5 or 8 players?
Dillon Hiser
T-Rob and Boom Boom should honestly make a run for the white house after tonight, they might have a legit shot.
Jacob Rude
Lou and Randle were both disappointing
Both seemed a bit lost in the offense at times
Dillon Hiser
I wasn’t impressed with Deng
Jacob Rude
Which is understandable. It’s a totally new system where you actually move and run plays
And they couldn’t find Kobe to pass him the ball
Grant Goldberg
I wonder how many times Randle fouls Lou in practice
Thai Luong
And plus, Luke said they didn’t focus on offense lately
Dillon Hiser
But like Jacob said, new system, new team for Luol, its only 1 game into the preseason but he looked slower than anticipated
Thai Luong
So that could add to their confusion
Honi Ahmadian
That’s kind of the issue with Deng though. It’s why he was much better as a 4 last year.
Drew Hernandez
Suprisingly it was D’Angelo who dissapointed me the most. He wasn’t making shots, turned the ball over a lot, and wasn’t playing that great defensively. Sure the turnovers can be a side effect of moving the ball more but didn’t do much.
Jacob Rude
Hater
Drew Hernandez
Bust’Angelo
Thai Luong
He played ok on defense
But really sloppy on offense
Dillon Hiser
yeah, D’Lo wasn’t overly impressive but he did have some flashes. That pick pocket and finish through the contact was impressive, he also hit a floater in the lane that I thought looked improved from last year.
Jacob Rude
There were a couple plays where DLo made the right read but wrong pass
Drew Hernandez
Yeah he was ok defensively but he wasn’t like Ingram who played more than ok on defense to make up for his sloppy offense
Jacob Rude
I know he had Deng on a backdoor at one point and threw the ball off his leg
Again, a byproduct of a new offense with new pieces
Drew Hernandez
Kind of a dissapointing game for who I think is the best player on the team
Thai Luong
He also didn’t post up at all
I would like to see him on the post a few times a game
Drew Hernandez
There were bright spots though. He had some good passes at times and put the ball into some tight spots.
Grant Goldberg
The Lakers should sign Luke Cage. Would be a stone wall on defense.
Drew Hernandez
He also has a grade A name.
Honi Ahmadian
Kobe better
Drew Hernandez
Who?
Honi Ahmadian
You’re fired.
Dillon Hiser
I’m just really intrigued by the lineups we will see next game, its refreshing to know that we now have a coach that will experiment with rotations that make sense
Thai Luong
I wonder if Lou starts on Friday
Drew Hernandez
Ahhh yes. You bring up an interesting idea. What was your favorite system change from last year to now?
The lineup changes are something that He who shall not be name would never do
Dillon Hiser
well I’m assuming there won’t be the need for any “20 game sample sizes” this season
Drew Hernandez
That’s a given. Luke already seems to be more forgiving of mistakes
Honi Ahmadian
Straight up defense, dawg. I know it wasn’t against great competition but it’s encouraging that Clarkson, for example, is possibly not a traffic cone on that end anymore
Jacob Rude
Well Kobe never made mistakes, so he didn’t have to forgive him
With that, we’ll wrap up our first Slackchat. 82-0, here we come
