**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins

[tupac003]

Boy was talking about he’s the Laker’s daddy and now he’s trynna walk it back

I don’t mind the **** talking. Just stand on it. Cause you know if they play in the playoffs again he’s going to be saying and doing exactly what he did last Sunday.

Facts. They was out here with they whole shirt off talking about us after winning a chip.

Keep that same energy.

 

[Brosizzlew30.23]

AD, Hayes, Wood, and Bron to the Nuggets frontcourt on opening night:

DEN in trouble this year and they know it

 

[noblekane]

There's some dude named Noble Kane who actively wants Hayes to fail and get traded

how can you fail when you never were anything more than trade fodder in the first place?

 

[pmatic]

Spoiler

LeBron James is playing like a ‘freight train’ in Lakers training camp

As we bounce around some of the buzzy topics over the first two days of Los Angeles Lakers training camp, arguably the most important update is that LeBron James is apparently looking like his pre-injury self.

When asked if James seems fully healthy, head coach Darvin Ham offered a strong confirmation.

“Oh, yeah,” Ham said. “Without question. … He’s 100 percent healthy. He looks fine. He looks like third- or fourth-year LeBron.”

While it’s highly unlikely James will resemble his 22- or 23-year-old self this upcoming season — he hasn’t had that level of athleticism in years — it’s easy to forget how well he was playing before he suffered a torn tendon in his right foot on Feb. 26 in Dallas.

James was averaging 29.5 points on 22.6 shot attempts per game. After the injury, James averaged 25.3 points on 19.8 shots per game in the regular season and 24.5 points on 18.4 shots per game in the playoffs. That’s the difference between a top-five and top-15 player, an important distinction for a title contender with a slim margin for error.

By the postseason, James had clearly lost some of his trademark burst and athleticism. There were stretches of games when he’d labor on his re-aggravated foot injury. He struggled to beat Xavier Tillman Sr. off the dribble on certain possessions of L.A.’s first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies. He was forced to defer at times because he was unable to forcefully take over games the way he has for most of his long career and had earlier in the season.

“He’s been looking good,” Jarred Vanderbilt said. “Just his energy level, his activity. Him changing ends of the floor, he definitely looks like he has a little bit more bounce and pep to his step. We’re glad to have him back at 100 percent. Like I said, he’s still moving, looking (like) a freight train. He’s lookin’ good.”

This Lakers team may possess the most offensive talent of any in the James-Anthony Davis era. Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Christian Wood are each capable of dropping at least 20 points on a given night. Frankly, Reaves and Russell could average in that range. Gabe Vincent, who hit a game-winning 3-pointer in one of Wednesday’s scrimmages, was a reliable weapon for the Miami Heat during their NBA Finals run last season.

“He’s able to pick his spots now,” Ham said of James’ offensive strategy. “He’s an elder, wise man on the court, as well as off the court. He’s very calculated in the way he chooses his spots to do that and to show that. And now he has a ton of help. It’s only gonna make him and allow him to play and have that burst for longer stretches during games, during the season. So now when we get to our destination, he’ll be clicking on all cylinders.”

Hood-Schifino is the ‘MVP’ of early scrimmaging
The standout player through two days of camp, surprisingly, has been rookie point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, who was namechecked by Reaves and Russell after the first day of scrimmages.

“I don’t think anyone would disagree if I called him the MVP of Day 1 in scrimmaging,” Ham said Wednesday. “He was very solid. We’re really, really excited about him.”

Hood-Schifino has impressed with his pick-and-roll play, midrange scoring and point-of-attack defense, team sources told The Athletic. After an up-and-down summer league, it was unclear how long it would take Hood-Schifino to adjust to the NBA game. Perhaps that adjustment will happen sooner than anticipated.

“Definitely just the work I’ve been putting in every day since summer league,” Hood-Schifino said when asked about his play. “Pretty much been here the whole summer. The main thing I think is just having confidence. That’s what I try to do. Obviously the nerves are high, definitely a little nervous. But it’s just basketball. So when I got out there, I just tried to play my game, be aggressive and be myself.”

Though Ham heaped a slew of praise on Hood-Schifino, he was candid about the biggest area the Lakers need the rookie to improve: his vocal leadership. Ham wants Hood-Schifino to hold his teammates accountable for their mistakes, even James and Davis. That’s quite the ask of a 20-year-old who has yet to log a single NBA second.

“I got on him a little bit yesterday,” Ham said. “Jalen is really soft-spoken. I said, ‘Kid, you’re going to be a 15-year point guard in this league with the skill set you have, the way you’re going to get better and how young you are. You got to start screaming. Just scream when you’re in the house by yourself. Just start yelling and screaming for no reason. Because you’re going to have to be the one who keeps your teammates organized and they’ve gotta always understand what we’re doing out there — whatever possession it is each, each and every possession.’ (He nodded) his head and agreed.

“He just went out there and played. He plays with a lot of moxie. He plays with stability. You can’t speed him up, you can’t slow him down. He’s strong. He’s a fierce competitor in a silent way. You’re not just gonna do whatever you want to do with him. He’s going to guard the hell out of the ball, guard off of the ball, try to rebound. He plays a powerful, powerful game at that position individually.”

Vincent, only a four-year veteran himself, admitted that Hood-Schifino is in a difficult position trying to assert himself on a team with two Hall of Famers, a former All-Star and multiple proven veterans.

“I mean, it’s tough,” Vincent said. “I think when you’re a young player coming into the league and you’re being told to tell LeBron James where to go on the court sometimes, that can be a lot for someone to take on. But if he can do it here, he’ll be able to do it on any team in this league. So, he’s shown a lot of growth in it.”

Hood-Schifino still projects as the third-string point guard behind Russell and Vincent. He’s still closer to a project than a finished product and is unlikely to play much this season despite being a first-round pick.

And that’s OK. The Lakers don’t need him — at least not yet. But they could use another big, physical guard in their rotation, and Hood-Schifino appears to be on track, if not ahead of schedule.

The elusive fifth starter
The fifth starter spot is the biggest question mark of camp. At this point, there are three candidates: Hachimura, Vanderbilt and Taurean Prince.

Each candidate has a different argument. Of the three, Vanderbilt is the best perimeter defender, which the starters clearly need, and adds solid rebounding and infectious energy. Hachimura is sturdy and athletic, capable of finishing in the paint and midrange areas while also defending bigs. Prince is the best shooter by a significant margin, an important box to check in a James-Davis frontcourt.

The Lakers have been mixing up their lineups in scrimmages, experimenting with different players at small forward. Vanderbilt was the primary fifth starter on the first day, with Prince being more involved with the starters on the second day, according to team sources. Hachimura, who entered camp as the favorite for the position given his considerable playoff progress, is expected to get a serious shot in camp as well.

Hachimura, who rejected the assumption that he had lost weight this summer, has been one of the standouts in scrimmages, along with Russell, Wood and Hood-Schifino, according to team sources.

The Lakers can only play coy with their starting small forward spot for so long. They play their first preseason game Saturday against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. Whoever starts then won’t necessarily be the opening night starter, but he will have the inside track and tip Ham’s hand as to the skill set he’s valuing.

Reaves is still easing into camp
After Reaves competed with Team USA from early August through early September, the Lakers decided to slowly incorporate him into camp. He didn’t participate in the first day of scrimmaging but did on the second day.

“Hey, it wasn’t my …,” Reaves said Tuesday before trailing off. “I don’t know. Anytime I’m in the gym, I want to play, so I was sitting over there trying my best to stay the course.”

Reaves revealed he took a couple of weeks off to rest and recharge after returning from the Philippines. After seeing him lose his legs over the second half of his rookie season and getting a bit banged up in last year’s playoffs, the Lakers decided Reaves needed time away from the gym.

“I’m ready to get back to work now, but there’s some stuff we got to build up to,” Reaves said. “But we’ll build up to that, and whatever they decide to do playing-wise in the preseason is what I’ll do.”

Ham said the organization hasn’t made a plan for Reaves’ preseason playing time.

“You have to be careful,” Ham said. “We got on the same page with Rob (Pelinka), myself, (head athletic trainer) Roger (Sancho), (head strength and conditioning coach) Ed (Streit), our performance team to come up with a good plan. … There are things we have to be careful with.”

 

[moonman818]

I totally forgot we have J Hood Schifino on the team

Somebody for sure getting traded this season.

 

[sohi 23]

In an IDEAL world, JHS & Christie backcourt dominates in the post Lebron era.

 

[pmatic]

 

[mrdieselfuel09]

Austin “Yessir” Reeves
Rui “You Know” Hachimura

 

[grittyman]

Man I’m sleepy

 

[tupac003]

Preseason Basketball on Saturday...

Best time of year man. MLB playoffs, College and NFL football and NBA games....

In sports heaven. Just found a device so I can get the 4 way split screen on my TV.

 

[pmatic]

 

[Hijo Del Promo]

I got $7 that Lebron also gonna be the first person to win 6th man, starting.

 

[DLF]

No Reaves tomorrow.

 

[lovehateself]

No Reaves tomorrow.

backup 2 spot should be fun between max and cam

 

[pmatic]

The JHS hype.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

LAL +1.5

 

[tupac003]

Not putting any stock in to preseason.

Would like to win a season opener though.

When was the last time we won an opening night game?

 

[SORIANOTRON]

Definitely would like to see us get some W's in preseason...got off to a ABISMAL start last year so the earlier we can stack W's and build a winning culture im all for it.

Im expecting to see different lineups each game/half but we so deep we should still be able to win regardless who's on the floor.

Like I said, I got high hoped for this season and it starts in training camp.

 

[mrdieselfuel09]

Not putting any stock in to preseason.

Would like to win a season opener though.

When was the last time we won an opening night game?

 

[mrdieselfuel09]

Luke’s debut game as a head coach

 

[Brosizzlew30.23]

 

[mrdieselfuel09]

Might grab some last minute tickets tomorrow to watch.

Me when security catches me in the wrong seats during a preseason game:

 

[pmatic]

 

[nike4kja05]

We Byke

 

[lovehateself]