After five long months, the Lakers will make their return to STAPLES Center for
a preseason contest against Denver.
Here are the major questions heading into Monday’s contest.
How much aggression will we see from Zo and B.I.? After Saturday’s preseason
opener, head coach Luke Walton challenged No. 2 pick Lonzo Ball to begin looking
for his own shot more aggressively.
A gifted passer, Ball had eight assists to only nine field goal attempts in his
first exhibition. While Walton is certainly pleased with Ball’s playmaking
ability, he also knows that opponents will look to take advantage of his
unselfishness if he doesn’t keep them honest by looking for his own offense.
In particular, Walton would like to see him attack the paint, as he attempted
only one shot from inside 10 feet on Saturday.
Likewise, the Lakers’ success this season will depend significantly on Brandon
Ingram’s ability to create individual offense.
The 20-year-old was excellent in the first quarter of the opener, scoring nine
points on three jumpers and an isolation drive to the rack.
However, he confessed to stopping the ball too much the rest of the game,
missing all of his eight shots over the next three quarters. Keep an eye on how
Ingram responds on Monday.
Float game pic.twitter.com/UMGISCkwjG
What kind of looks will the offense get as a whole? Ingram wasn’t the only one
who contributed to a lack of ball movement post-first quarter. Walton felt his
team grew fatigued over the course of the game, leading to players settling for
contested 3-point attempts.
The result was a ghastly 5-of-30 mark from beyond the arc.
However, the Lakers were still able to make a game of it thanks to the efforts
of rookie Kyle Kuzma, who put his offensive capabilities on display through a
wide range of scoring tactics.
The 27th pick competed at both the three and four positions, and finished the
night with a team-high 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
He started off by throwing down an alley-oop and kept it going with a
flame-throwing third quarter that saw him hit a step-back, floater and two hook
shots across a 91-second span.
Lol nah that’s the Magic baby sky hook version https://t.co/LyJp70xWfT
Who will stand out among the centers? With Brook Lopez and Andrew Bogut once
again sidelined, the Lakers will look to a crew of youngsters to fill the center
spot.
Last game, Walton started a small-ball lineup featuring Julius Randle and Larry
Nance Jr. in the front court. While Nance struggled with his attempts (1-of-7)
at the five, he did haul down a team-best nine rebounds.
But perhaps the most promising performance belonged to Ivica Zubac, who
struggled at Summer League just two months ago.
In only 19 minutes, Zubac compiled nine points (4-of-6), five rebounds and pairs
of assists and blocks. More activity like that would make a strong case for a
larger role in a crowded Lakers front court.
Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m. PT TV: Spectrum SportsNet and Spectrum Deportes in L.A. NBA
TV nationally. Radio: 710 ESPN and 1330 KWKW
A post shared by Lakers Scene (@lakersscene) on Sep 30, 2017 at 9:15pm PDT
Player: Lonzo Ball
Player: Brandon Ingram
Player: Kyle Kuzma
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