The Los Angeles Lakers continued their training camp on Wednesday after their first practice as a team came on Tuesday.
Yesterday, Westbrook talked about how nice it was to have a “new coach’s energy” (hilarious) while additional info was revealed on how Darvin Ham would be orchestrating his practices, headlined by the fact that they will always have blue tape on the court shaping boxes that will influence their spacing principles. You can read about all that and more in our recap of training camp’s day one here.
With that being said, onto today’s news out of the 2022-23 Lakers’ training camp:
Anthony Davis: Wrist injury impacted his shooting last season
The most notable quote coming after Wednesday’s practice was that Anthony Davis noted that a wrist injury suffered in January impacted his shooting. AD made only 18.6% of his 3-point attempts during last year’s campaign, the lowest mark of his career since he started regularly eclipsing one 3-point attempt per game in his fourth season.
AD on his shooting: “A lot of people don’t know this but since January I was battling a wrist injury … it was tough for me to shoot how I wanted to shoot.” Said it feels “great” now.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) September 28, 2022
Digging into the numbers, I wish this admission could carry some value, showing that AD did shoot better before January. However, that’s just not the case, evidenced below:
AD in Oct-Dec 2021 (27 games played):
10/56 on 3Ps (17.8%)
50/129 mid-range jumpers (38.8%)AD in Jan-Mar 2022 (13 games played):
3/14 on 3Ps (21.4%)
22/66 mid-range jumpers (33.3%) https://t.co/UNxRuzr83S— Donny McHenry (@donny_mchenry) September 28, 2022
Either way, he says it’s a thing of the past now and that his shooting will hopefully improve this upcoming season.
Anthony Davis also reiterated talking points he laid out during Monday’s media day, specifically that his number one goal this season (as is LeBron’s) is to be healthy for as many games as physically possible.
Anthony Davis said he's got one individual goal this year. "I just want to be on the floor. I want to be able to play all 82. And if I'm not, I don't want it to be injury-based where I can't play. That's my goal."
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) September 28, 2022
Patrick Beverley is a fool in the best way
I think we’re in for a long season of hilarious and puzzing quotes from the man, the myth, the legend… Patrick Beverley. After Wednesday’s practice, Beverley talked about the good vibes in camp so far… in fact… he said camp has been “a vibe” in and of itself (Yes, I know I sound old).
Patrick Beverley explained why training camp has been "a vibe" thus far: "Everything’s good. The lunch tastes great. The water tastes a little bit better. The co-workers and you are getting along. The sun’s outside. Work is a vibe."
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) September 28, 2022
Beverley did get to discuss the actual on-court product we will be seeing once Monday’s preseason opener is underway, as he said the following to Lakers reporter Mike Trudell.
He added this when asked about cutting when LeBron draws attention: "I'm not a cutter. My numbers say shoot 3's, so I don't know if I should be cutting."
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) September 28, 2022
On the surface, this statement reads as it’s coming from a guy not willing to do the hard work needed to be a successful role player around LeBron James. In fact, just imagine if Russell Westbrook said this.
But since it’s coming from Beverley, it’s definitely something fans should brush off as not being too serious.
And if we are going to be serious about it, Beverley might have a point. Although last season’s 34.3% 3-point shooting clip was Beverley’s lowest since he entered the league, he shot 38% or higher in the six seasons preceding last year’s campaign. With that resume, he may have been considered the best 3-point shooter on the team last season not named LeBron James or Malik Monk (he also might still have that claim for this year’s team).
Either way, I don’t think we have to worry about Beverley making a cut if it’s there for the taking.
Darvin Ham talking about Lakers pick-and-roll defensive scheme
Lastly, Darvin Ham provided some information on how the team will play defense against pick-and-rolls.
Darvin Ham said the Lakers will largely play a pick and roll scheme he calls “Center field,” with a dropped big trying to force opponents into tough, contested twos. But they’ll also have switch packages to take advantage of guys like Anthony Davis being able to defend guards.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) September 28, 2022
Now, don’t start getting all excited that Ham is deploying some new scheme that previous head coach Frank Vogel did not deploy himself. The “Center field” coverage he discusses represents a simple drop coverage, the same defensive scheme that Vogel used for nearly all of last season.
Taking notes on what Ham calls various coverages and tactics.
Center field = drop https://t.co/GIKHGjLPDe
— Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA) September 28, 2022
Of course, this year’s defense could still be way better than last year’s even if they play a very similar style. That’s mostly due to the increased athleticism that the Lakers have on their young roster when compared to last year’s team of geriatrics.
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Stay tuned for tomorrow’s recap of the Lakers’ third day of training camp. The first preseason game is in FIVE DAYS!
