The last week of the Lakers offseason has wrapped up! Their preseason was mercifully put to rest as the team finishes 0-6 for the first time since the 2012-13 season (let’s not talk about that).
Here’s everything that you might have missed from the final week of preseason games before the season opens up on October 19th!
It’s mother-effin Austin Reaves time
Austin Reaves may be filling the fan favorite hole in Lakers’ hearts leading into the season, as the undrafted rookie has really impressed during the preseason. It also helps to endure yourself to Lakers fans by telling everyone that your nickname while at Oklahoma was “Hillbilly Kobe”. He played 22 minutes per game in the preseason, averaging 7.5 points, 2.8 assists (1.0 turnover), 2.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. He especially impressed on the defensive end, an end that most of the Lakers players were lacking in this preseason.
This week we wrote about LeBron James calling him an “NBA level” player as well as Frank Vogel saying Reaves has earned his trust.
Talen Horton-Tucker joins Trevor Ariza with his long absence
Although THT won’t be out nearly as long as Trevor Ariza’s minimum six-to-eight week absence, he will miss at least four weeks as that is when he is set to be re-evalued. Horton-Tucker had surgery on Tuesday, repairing a torn ligament in his thumb.
Frank Vogel lamented the fact that THT will have to miss some time, pointing out the defense as an area that will suffer. Vogel said before training camp started that THT had been challenged on an increased role on the defense.
Lakers reduce their roster
Late Friday afternoon, the Lakers released Joel Ayayi (who was on a two-way contract), Chaundee Brown Jr., Trevelin Queen, and Cameron Oliver. You can read our story about that here.
Kendrick Nunn, Malik Monk miss rest of preseason
The two scorers for the Lakers missed the rest of the preseason after Nunn sustained an ankle sprain and Monk had a groin strain. The Lakers are hoping the two will be ready for the season opener, although they may end up missing it.
What We Wrote This Week:
On Monday, Walt jokingly entertained our foolish, die-hard readers on the idea of the Lakers being a “rebuilding” team.
On Tuesday, Donny took a look at what we could take away from the preseason before the Lakers’ final two games.
On Wednesday, Honi examined what the rotation could look like given Ariza and Horton-Tucker’s extended absences.
On Thursday, Donny talked about what we could hope to expect in the Lakers’ final preseason game against the Kings.
