Lakers preseason observations: Takeaways on the LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook ensemble
via @TheAthletic https://t.co/uqGaCcRn8t
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) October 16, 2021
LeBron James
If there was ever any doubt about the physical state of James entering his 19th season and nearing 37 years old, he quickly put that notion to rest with a six-points-in-30-seconds stretch against the Warriors, and his 30-point outing against the Kings.
One important note: James’ usage has been higher than Westbrook’s when they’re on the floor together and even higher when Westbrook is off the floor, as it should be in both cases. The ballhandling is trending in James’ favor with Westbrook. It’s only been two games, but still.
James remains L.A.’s best and most important player, to little surprise. It’s difficult to lose the minutes that he’s on the floor — even in the preseason. He’s that great.
Anthony Davis
Davis’ preseason highlights have largely been his dunks, particularly off lobs from Kent Bazemore and Rajon Rondo.
But Davis, especially when he’s at the five, has been playing closer to the basket than last season, and it’s been paying off with more moves like this.
Last season, and in general, when he’s being too passive offensively, Davis will settle for a faceup midrange jumper in this scenario. Instead, he drop-spins — it doesn’t create as much of an advantage as it could have, but it was still effective — absorbs the contact from Kevon Looney and rises up for what should have been an and-1 lay-in.
When the Lakers don’t have proper spacing — basically any time they play Westbrook or Rondo with another big next to Davis — these types of plays are harder to make.
Russell Westbrook
There will clearly be an adjustment period as Westbrook finds his place within the Lakers offense. The fit has been a bit clunky — as expected.
Westbrook has lived in the paint, scoring at the rim, dumping passes off to cutting bigs and finding spot-up shooters. Turnovers have been a glaring issue, but the vision is there. His force is effective. He pressures defenses on most possessions. His shot selection can use some work — he loves early shot-clock jumpers — but each game has featured some encouraging flashes of Westbrook’s potential fit.
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