One heart-gripping moment put things in perspective: In the third quarter of Thursday night’s preseason game against the host Sacramento Kings, Lakers star LeBron James limped off the court, massaging his calf.
In the span of a TV timeout, the 36-year-old four-time league MVP went from inflaming the anxiety of the Lakers’ fanbase to back on the court, moving around and scoring moments later.
Sure, the Lakers underwhelmed during their six preseason games, but it always could be worse.
The final exhibition game, a 116-112 loss, showcased deficiencies of the would-be title contender just like their first five exhibition losses did. Despite fielding James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, the Lakers are not yet all they’ve been cracked up to be, ceding 71 points to the Sacramento Kings by halftime and failing to steal the game at the finish while playing their starters a full allotment of minutes for the first time in a loss.
The Lakers finished the preseason 0-6, which could be read as an omen: The ill-fated superteam of Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash got out to the same start in 2012, which portended things to come.
But if you ask the latest Big Three, it’s merely early stumbles on the way to more confident strides. As a whole, the Lakers remain an incomplete project – more the idea of a contender than a fully formed one. But as long as their top players remain healthy, they believe, they have a chance.
“We’re starting to learn each other,” James said. “We try to learn each other every quarter, every time we were out on the floor. That was the biggest thing that we can build from from the games that we played.”
There were some incremental steps: Westbrook flashed his more aggressive scoring side, and a lineup with him and James mounted one of the best runs of the evening – resulting in 42 points in the second quarter – as the two former MVPs charged hard at the rim.
It was James’ best game of the preseason, scoring 30 points on 12-for-20 shooting. The Lakers outscored the Kings by 17 points during his minutes in a game that had a few wild swings. Perhaps his best trick was unlocking Westbrook, who scored 18 points for his highest output as a Laker.
“If it’s one-on-one, then I like my chances against anybody,” Westbrook said. “So if they’re gonna guard me like that, then it’s my job to make the right play: attack, use my size and my strength to get to where I need to get to.”
Although it was less than a week ago that James laughed off the meaning of preseason games, he clearly wanted to win one. He checked in for the fourth quarter, totaling 29 minutes for the most action he’s seen thus far.
But the Lakers, beset by a number of injuries to their supporting cast, are still finding themselves defensively. After the Kings cruised by them in the paint in the first half, they knocked down deep shots in the second, finishing with nearly twice as many 3-pointers (17) as the Lakers (nine).
Davis was the pillar of the trio who looked off, settling for jump shots that he often missed. He finished with 14 points on 18 shots. The unofficial leader of the Lakers’ defense, Davis said that remains the area where the Lakers need the most growth.
“New guys trying to play in a new system; old guys trying to get acclimated to the new guys who are trying to get acclimated to the new system, so it’s a lot,” he said. “But we’re gonna try to chip away at it. Chip away at it every day.”
The Lakers started big with veteran DeAndre Jordan at center, pushing Davis to power forward. It appears to foreshadow the team’s intentions for next week’s season opener, after the Lakers played a smaller lineup on Tuesday against Golden State. Coach Frank Vogel said he anticipated Davis splitting his minutes evenly between center and power forward.
Dwight Howard received consideration as a starter and has presented a compelling case with his defense and physicality. In the second quarter of Thursday’s game, he blocked Harrison Barnes and followed up with a finger wag to the crowd.
But Howard might just be a victim of his own success as an off-the-bench jolt.
“One of the strengths of our team two years ago when Dwight was here was how much he punished backup centers and backup lineups,” Vogel said. “We really just moved the needle with how effective he was in second units and it’s something we liked with this year’s team, and DeAndre filling that JaVale (McGee) role of coming in and setting the tone with his lob catching and shot blocking with the first unit.”
Fans will undoubtedly start rallying for bench minutes is rookie Austin Reaves, who flashed good chemistry with the stars on his way to a solid night as an off-ball scorer and playmaker.
The Lakers open the season on Oct. 19 against the Golden State Warriors.