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LeBron James made his Lakers debut on Thursdays in a 128-119 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. There were a lot of things to be done about Lakers played, but there were certainly some causes for concern, as well. Here are five quick takeaways.
How long until LeBron takes more control?
The King posted 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in his first quarter for the Lakers, who, with Rajon Rondo leading the pace, were all playing like they were shot out of a cannon. As the game wore on, LeBron started to control possessions a bit more, but he was clearly in "get everyone involved" mode for the most part of the night to the baseline off at Rondo pbad, and he had a couple offensive put-backs (he only had 34 of those all last year). The 13 points were a career first-quarter high for LeBron, if you can believe that.
All told, LeBron posted 26 points, 12 boards and six badists in 38 minutes. It was an easy line. LeBron was very good with 13 points and 11 badists was over-11 in his 32 minutes. This has been a big storyline, LeBron playing more off the ball, and he definitely has a bit more in mind than we've seen in the past. He found Brandon Ingram on a nice high-low pbad over the top. He created a corner with Rondo in the middle. He ran the wing on breaks rather than getting the ball rolling.
Lakers love their opponents with their guards.
Brandon Ingram gets the mismatch here. Rondo's pick, and LeBron puts the ball in the perfect spot. pic.twitter.com/v06STSAg2h
– Joey Ramirez (@JoeyARamirez) October 19, 2018
There were six such Lakers scored 13 points or more. Ingram was nice in the third quarter after struggling a bit in the first half; he could have the biggest adjustment of any Laker playing more without the ball. Josh Hart was lights out with 20 points. In the second half he finished a beautiful move on which he refused LeBron's ball screen and went to the rim. He went 3-of-5 from three. Kyle Kuzma was aggressive all night and finished with 15 points.
Still, the Lakers lost. LeBron never got into that "I'm going to take this game over" mode, and at some point, it may be more often than not. When will that point be? How will it happen? It's a tough situation because of the West, LeBron can not do it alone. In the East, that was fine. But in the West, he needs these guys to be really good In a lot of ways, they were on Thursday. In one major way, they were not. Which leads us to …
Turns out, shooting is kind of a big deal
This is a question about the Ronda, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley and JaVale McGee: Who is going to make shots? Particularly 3-pointers? On Thursday, the Lakers shot 7-of-30 from deep. That's 23 percent. The Blazers made 13 3s at a 35-percent clip. For all intents and purposes, that was the difference.
We all know LeBron has been most successful in the past, especially with Cleveland, with shooters all around the world. Ingram set up shop in the corner as a spot-up guy early on and missed two open 3s; he went 0-for-4 from deep for the game. Kuzma went 1-for-7. Lonzo Ball went 1-for-4. Stephenson was 0-for-3. LeBron, for his part, also took a donation from deep on four attempts.
Pretty, if you can not make 3s, or guard against 3s on the other end, you're in a world of trouble. There are things that can be better defended against the 3, but knock-down shooters are not just going to show up on the Lakers' roster. Lakers fans can hold out hope that Kuzma has a hot year (he is able) and that either Ingram or Ball get hot in some kind of alternating role from game to game. These things are not completely unreasonable, but they are not exactly dependable. Well see.
We might have a Lonzo problem
For now, Ball has lost his starting job to Rondo, and if Thursday night is any indication, it's not going to get back any time soon. Again, Rondo was really good, and Lonzo was pretty much the opposite – posting seven points and one badist on 2-of-7 shooting for a team-low minus-15 in his 19 minutes. Yikes.
Lonzo is actually a really good off-ball player, but I never bought it and still do not. He's not a good shooter, plain and simple. He's ready to go in the half court, often getting rid of the ball like a hot potato. If the Lakers continues to play super fast, and can create a ball-and-player-movement-based half-court offense where cuts and screen actions are still executed, Ball does have a natural feel for that kind of inclusivity. But it was all about his energy, and pretty simply, he was just going through the motions on Thursday. If you give up the ball and just stand there, and you can not shoot at a level that scares defenses in the slightest, you are a non-factor.
That was Lonzo Thursday night. A complete and total non-factor. There is a real swag that comes with starting a basketball game. This is true at every level, from junior high on up. It's a pride thing. A confidence thing. For a young player, it 's just a question of a different kind of way, the Andre Iguodala way, his way in Golden State. That's veteran stuff. For young guys, it can be hard to be badertive when you just got demoted. Lonzo, who's never really been so much better than that, better than that, or else he's getting better at being a backup.
A little love for the Blazers
Every year the Blazers get questioned. Every year they're good. Here's the deal: No team with Damian Lillard. I am convinced of this, and have been for a long time. Lillard went for 28 points, six rebounds and four badists. He has a tough shooting night by going 8-for-8 at the free throw line. This is what stars do, Lillard is a stone-cold star. Should be in the MVP conversation every year. Do not let anyone tell you different. LeBron's huge dunk with one of his own.
I talked to Terry Stotts this summer and he told me one of the Blazers' main focus this year was going to be 3-point line – both shooting more than they did last year and defending it on the other end. As stated above, they shut down the Lakers 3-point attack and made 13 of their own from deep – thanks in large part to the season-opening surprise performance of Nik Stauskas, who went 5-for-8 from deep for 24 huge points off the bench. CJ McCollum with 21 points on 3-of-6 from deep. Portland's bench was terrific as a group.
Stotts also told me he was more likely to get away from it, that can still get better – they only had 21 badists on Thursday. But listen, to some degree you ride the horses, and Lillard and McCollum are the horses. Why are people betraying me?
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