Five things to watch as Lakers open defense of NBA title
LOS ANGELES -- Although no fans will be on hand to witness it, the Los Angeles Lakers will get their NBA championship rings in a ceremony before the team’s regular season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday.
The rings symbolize the Lakers’ impressive accomplishment, grinding their way to a 17th NBA title under unusual circumstances in the NBA bubble in Orlando during a global pandemic.
But it also serves as another reminder -- teams will be gunning for them this season, looking to stop the Lakers from repeating as champions.
It all begins for the Lakers this week as the NBA attempts to play a 72-game schedule for the first time outside the bubble.
Here are five things to watch as the Lakers attempt to become the first team to repeat as NBA champions since the Golden State Warriors accomplished the feat in 2017 and 2018.
How will the Lakers handle load management?
With older players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis getting just two months to recover from last season, creating recovery time for players will be a top priority for NBA coaches during the upcoming season.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said he’ll lean on something he used last season to help players in their recovery during an arduous regular season.
Film study and walk throughs as a replacement for practice time.
“It’s important for us to learn in the film room and get everybody connected,” Vogel said. “We’ve had some success with carry-over from what we talk about on film carrying out onto the court.”
James has not been a fan of load management in years past but seems more willing to accept sitting out at times this season due to the unique circumstances.
“I’m just listening to my body, and my body will tell me where I am at, at that point in time,” James said. “That’s what it’s all about. We’re a marathon team, and we understand that. We’re not in a sprint.”
Along with that, the Lakers have perhaps the deepest team in the NBA. With stringent COVID-19 protocols in place, the Lakers could be without certain players at times during the season and will likely have to juggle lineups if a limited number of players are available on game day.
“I don’t think we’re as ready as we would like to be,” Vogel said. “We’re not feeling sorry for ourselves in any way, but the short offseason and the condensed preseason has us in a place where we’re probably going to be still figuring things out the first month or so of the season.
“We’ll probably have some ugly nights along the way, some ugly moments, and that’s to be expected and that’s okay. We’ve got a good team, a good group of guys that are willing to come and sacrifice to win a championship.”
Will James spend less time at point guard?
For the first time in his 17-year career, James led the league in assists last season, averaging a career-best 10.2 assists a contest.
However, with the arrival of Dennis Schröder, who said he would like to start at point guard, James seems willing to spend some time off the ball this season, alleviating some of the strain of constantly running the offense.
The Lakers also can use big man Marc Gasol as a facilitator of the offense at the top of the circle. Gasol showed a deft ability to find back cutters off screens with crisp passes during preseason play, and also stretched the floor with his shooting ability.
Add in Alex Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker, and Vogel has several options at his disposal to spell James at point guard.
However, expect James to have the ball in his hands when the game is on the line.
James also has some heady milestones within reach this season. With 94 triple-doubles, James needs six more to reach 100. He’s also 654 assists from 10,000 and 759 points away from 35,000.
Anthony Davis the 3-point shooter?
The 6-foot-10 big man put on a shooting clinic in the final preseason game, making 6-of-7 from beyond the arc and finishing with 35 points in 30 minutes in a win over the Phoenix Suns.
Davis said one of his offseason goals was becoming a more consistent 3-point shooter, adding another element to his already diversified game.
Davis wants to get to the point where he’s taking five three-point attempts a game.
“It’s constantly just shooting the ball with confidence and letting it fly,” Davis said. “Obviously, the team, the players want me to shoot it. They have a lot of confidence in me. And so I just have to be confident enough to go out there and shoot the ball.”
Davis shot 33 percent from beyond the arc during the regular season last year and 38 percent in the playoffs.
“We want him to continue to be aggressive at the 3-point line,” Vogel said. “I thought he improved each month throughout the year last year, and was big in the playoffs from range, from deep.”
What's the starting five?
In the team’s final preseason game, James started at point guard, with Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at the wings and Davis and Gasol the big guy inside.
With the shortest player at 6-5, that gives the Lakers a long lineup that can switch defensively and spread the floor with shooters on the offensive end.
Perhaps that was a dress rehearsal for what Vogel will debut Tuesday?
If it is, Vogel’s not saying.
“We’re going to hold he starting lineup and reveal it on Tuesday night before the game,” Vogel told reporters Monday.
Will Talen Horton-Tucker crack the rotation?
The second-year pro out of Iowa State averaged 20.5 points a contest in the preseason, with the Lakers finishing 4-0.
Horton-Tucker consistently finished at the rim, showed the ability to shoot from beyond the arc and find his teammates on slashing drives to the basket.
Now, Vogel will have to see if the 6-4 swingman’s skillsets translate to playing off the ball in more of a complementary role with guys like James and Davis during the regular season, and how Horton-Tucker could blend in with his team’s second unit.
“We like what he brings to the table if we’re asked to lean on him as a primary scorer and playmaker, like we did in some of those preseason games,” Vogel said. “But he’s definitely shown that he can be effective playing off the ball as well.”
Whatever Vogel’s decision, Horton-Tucker is too talented to keep at the end of the bench.