THOUSAND PALMS, Calif.—There was a small sense of relief around the loading dock inside the Lakers’ temporary home near Palm Springs. The first milestone, the end of preseason games, had just come following a loss to the Phoenix Suns when the Lakers’ regulars shut it down in the middle of the third quarter. They had survived training camp and proven to themselves that they might be the special team they hope to be.
I’m impressed with the guys communicating, the continuity of before I could even have a chance to say anything in terms of correcting something — be it defensively, offensively — they’re already on it,” coach Darvin Ham said. “They’re already discussing it with one another. Just different playcalls, really them taking their time to explore all of the options.
The Lakers, though, are still not without obvious flaws. With Gabe Vincent and Jalen Hood-Schifino both hurt, the Lakers’ reserves were in desperate need of a playmaker. While LeBron James was able to duel with Kevin Durant for a half, the Lakers still got cooked in transition — a problem that the Lakers dealt with all last season as well.
Effort and communication. Those are the two biggest things,” Anthony Davis said. “Hustling back, running back and realizing that you don’t have a man in transition. You’re not going to your man, you have to find a man and just match up from there. Getting back, not running alongside your man and then communicating.” If transition defense is on the list of the things the Lakers want to fix going into the season, D’Angelo Russell’s play is one of the things the team wants to keep rolling.
