Lakers Just Revealed Something INTERESTING in Their Preseason Opener.. | Ayton’s Laker DEBUT + More!

Lakers Just Revealed Something INTERESTING in Their Preseason Opener.. | Ayton’s Laker DEBUT + More!

[Music] Well, the Laker season is over before it even began. They dropped preseason game number one and therefore it’s time to pack it up, right? Obviously completely joking. I mean, Twitter might have you believe otherwise here, but no, it’s not time to give up. It’s not time to completely write them off here. Yes, it’s not fun to lose the game, even a game that doesn’t count like again a preseason game. But they were in fact playing though LeBron, Luca Donuch, even guys like Marcus Smart gave Vincent a new hero and they have a lot to learn from this game. But it’s not the end of the world here. In fact, I think there’s actually something we can learn from it, even more that they can learn from it, be better from it, and really take it as a learning lesson that they can move forward with and then apply to the games that actually count. So with that in mind here, we’re going to talk about five things that they can learn from this or maybe that we learn about the Lakers from this. Again, both offensively, defensively, individually wise, and much, much more. So, we’re going to talk about that and try to break it all down here. But real quick before we get too far into it, if you have been enjoying the everyday content, then I greatly would appreciate it if you dropped a like, subscribe to the channel if you have not already, and hit that notification bell to never miss out when I upload a video. But without further ado, now getting into our topic here. And for takeaway number one, I would say that Vanderbilt aka Jared Vanderbilt does in fact look like the pre-injury version of himself. You know, we heard about it throughout training camp. JJ Reic directly brought it up and mentioned that he looked a whole lot better and again like the pre-intentry version of himself and I think he proved it out there, too. Now, if you’re simply a box score watcher, it might not look like it. Vanderbilt playing 21 minutes and dropping a grand total of one point, two rebounds, going 0 for four from the field and 0 for three from beyond the ark. But that’s never the perfect way to evaluate Jared Vanderbilt. In fact, if you want to truly evaluate Jared Vanderbilt, you have to turn on the game and actually watch him play, aka using the eye test, as you’re not going to see him pop off on offense from a numbers standpoint. You’re going to see him on the court and have to evaluate him again with the eye test on defense. And well, I think that was apparent last night. Again, you’re not going to find it from a numbers standpoint, at least not really. Anyways, kind of, I guess, with the individual matchup with Deon Booker. That was his primary matchup when they were both on the court. And during the first quarter, he did hold Deon Booker to four points on one of four from the field. But I’m more so talking about the way that Vanderbilt was moving on the court, his side to side movement, north to south movement, simply his ability to guard the three-point line and kind of get back that old role that he filled. not the defensive kind of four five role that he filled last season which Reic has talked about him kind of being forced to fill as they’re a very small post straight deadline after trading Anthony Davis and not being able to acquire another center apart from Jackson Hayes. So he was kind of thrust into that role despite it not being the perfect fit. But now with him getting back to that defensive pes kind of role for their team, taking on the toughest matchup and often the most difficult guard match up on the court, Vanderbilt showed that he can do that and likely will be able to get back to it. You know, again, taking on the Devin Booker matchup last night, doing fairly well at times, albeit not perfect. I thought he looked pretty good athletically. Maybe has some work to do conditioning wise yet as I think he did get a bit tired there in the second half, but overall I like the way he looked on defense. I thought he defended Booker pretty well, kept up with him pretty well, jumped a few passing lanes, and had one steal and one block to show for it. And overall, I’m happy with Jared Vanderbilt and confident in his ability to fill that defensive pest role for their team full time. Again, however, while I was happy with him defensively, I was a little bit let down offensively. Now, I’m never expecting too much from Vanderbilt offensively. Again, it’s not really good to point to the numbers here with him, but from the training camp hype about his three-point shot and improved three-point shooting motion, I was hoping for him to knock down at least one. And like I said, I like the fact that he attempted three of them, went 0 for three, but was not afraid to take them. I thought his shooting motion was a little bit quicker, even looked a little bit better in general, but it did not show any production quite yet. going 0 for three and the fact that he didn’t make one was a little bit disappointing, but he has plenty of time left to eventually make one and maybe kind of improve the doubt upon his three-point shooting motion that he might be able to become a decent three-point shooting option for them this season. But again, up until this point, that’s not been proven to be true quite yet. Though, apart from Jared Vanderbilt, another takeaway from preseason game number one that I had was the energy and effort, particularly on defense, that DeAndre Aan played with. And no, I’m not joking about that. I mean, I know he talked about it throughout training camp and during his introductory press conference, but to actually show it is another thing entirely. And at least up until this point, he was able to show it. Whether you’re talking about it from a numbers standpoint, having two blocks and one steal to show for it, but more importantly from the eye test and what he actually showed on the court, switching on defense, getting back and offering rim protection, deflecting passes, and even a few long passes at the rim, simply showing the effort at pretty much all times on defense. Aan was able to show it and prove that he is trying to make that effort and improvement on defense, too. Arone loved it. You know, he only had one point offensively, and that definitely will improve with LeBron and Luca Dontic and simply more playmakers out there for him to play with, but the defense was definitely there with him. He didn’t care that he wasn’t really getting involved that much offensively. Didn’t care that he wasn’t getting many touches, something that previously had been a problem for DeAndre, often leading to a lower effort output from him on the court. But that wasn’t the case last night. Even with that, and regardless of it, was putting in work on defense. Whether you’re talking about the two blocks, the one steal the show for it, simply the energy and effort that you definitely can point to, switching on defense, deflecting passes, and even deflecting a few law passes at the rim. He was putting in work on defense, and he made a concerted effort to show for it, too. However, the question is now, was that simply a good first impression from him? Was he simply trying to impress Laker fans and doing it from a short-term standpoint, or will it actually continue with him throughout the entire season? That’s what he’s got to prove. and what he has to maintain now throughout the entire season. Again, I am not worried about him offensively. With the addition of Luca Donic, LeBron James, and the rest of their playmakers back on the court with him, I think the offense will come with him, and that’s not a problem. But the defense and the regular effort on defense will be something to watch with DeAndre. However, from a first impression and what he tried to prove last night, I was very impressed with him. And here’s quickly what he had to say about it. Yeah, I wanted to show the team. I’m more committed on the defensive end more than the offense. And in a way, um, like I say from the get-go, I’m not really here for numbers. I’m just here for whatever the Lakers really want me to do. And, you know, main objective is really protecting that rim and closing out possessions. And I had fun, man. Just, you know, blocking some shots today and, you know, just being that, you know, seeing how the guys are responding to me, you know, just the terminology and stuff like that. Just to get out and, you know, just be out in our offense and create from our defense. So, it was fun. It was fun tonight. Honestly, overall here, I love what Aiden both showed on the court and had to say about what he tried to do on the court last night. So fingers crossed here that he will be able to maintain it. But then moving on to takeaway number three, I’d simply point to the Lakers size out there on the court. I mean, even without Luca Donic, who is 6’7, even without LeBron James who is 6’9, they rolled out a starting lineup of Austin Reeves who 6’5, Jake the Rabio, who’s 6’8, Jared Vanderbilt who’s 6’8, Ruy Hatchimro, who’s 6’8, and DeAndre who’s 7 foot. And that’s not to mention playing guys like Jackson Hayes off the bench who’s 7 foot, even Christian Koko, who’s 7’1, and overall having a pretty damn big team. That’s definitely a stark contrast compared to their team post straight deadline, running small ball lineups with Dorian Pen Smith playing the five, Jared Vanderville playing the five, heck, even LeBron playing the five at times. That’s now a big difference to their team and it will be something they have to get used to. I mean, they don’t have the ability to be as switchable defensively anymore. Maybe not as versatile offensively and maybe not as good of a three-point shooting team, but they do have advantages that they can point to and should be able to take advantage of, too. Whether you’re talking about the rebounds and getting more offensive rebounds for their team, more chances to actually put up points and maybe get kick outs for three-point shots, whether you’re talking about the Lawthread ability, always having at least one of Aiden, Hayes, or some other law threat on the court. The better rim protection, whether that be with Aiden, Hayes, or even Koko, having a true rim protector, that should be an advantage. Again, simply pointing to their height and length on the court. If they’re better able to figure it out and how to take advantage of it on both ends of the court, it should be a major benefit to their team. It simply has to be something they get used to and find ways to take better advantage of it. But then moving on to takeaway number four here. I’d point to their offense schematically and really their entire scheme on the court. I’d simply point to them not being used to it quite yet compared to Phoenix who maybe ran a more simple scheme, but it worked a whole lot better for them. The Lakers definitely don’t have their offense or defense down quite yet. The guys simply weren’t ready out there to run it. You could tell that a few of them were lagging a bit behind and really couldn’t do it quite at full speed yet, which isn’t that shocking. With only 3 days of training camp under their belt, not to mention with five plus new additions on their team, it will take some time. So, don’t get too anxious about it. the fact that they shot poorly from the three-point line. We’re not able to get many quality shots directly from their offense quite yet. Definitely weren’t using their entire playbook quite yet. Don’t freak out about it, but it is something that I will point to. They’re really not up to speed schematically again offensively or defensively quite yet. Hurt by a lack of their available playmakers being out. Luca, LeBron, Marcus Smart, heck, even Gabe Vincent were not out there. So, they were hurt by that, but definitely are lagging a bit behind in regard to their offensive playbook. But then for my fifth and final takeaway, I point to a rotation battle and two guys that are currently on the outside looking in the rotation that did not do themselves any favors last night. Talking about Dalton Connect and Bronny James. Between the two of them, they weren’t very effective offensively combining to go two of 15 from the field or rather two of 15 from the three-point line, only three of 22 from the field and obviously not very good. Defensively, they weren’t that good. connect, you know, actually probably being better than Bronny last night on defense. Bronny getting lost in a few plays, his screen navigation not being that good, and simply not being quite up to speed quite yet. Something that he talked about and not having his legs under him quite yet. But they definitely did not do themselves any favors with neither Marcus Smart, Gabe Vincent, or a few other guys not out there on the court. Again, only talking about a preseason and not to mention the very first preseason game of the year for their team and for these two directly, but it definitely was not a very good first impression. For two guys that are trying to gain favor from JJ Reick, trying to impress the head coach and trying to show that they can be in the rotation. It was not a good first showing for them, neither offensively or defensively. Connect has got to be a better three-point shooter. You know, he definitely was defended pretty well last night, and their offense wasn’t working very well, but he did miss a couple of open shots, too. Ronnie got to his spots in the court, but wasn’t able to convert offensively. Again, going 1 for 12 from the field. Defensively, was not what we wanted him to be. Wasn’t the good defensive guard out there. Wasn’t a good screen navigator, even getting beat back door a couple of times. So, both of them do have to show improvement and do it pretty quickly, too. Overall here though, those would have to be my takeaways in their first preseason game so far. Definitely both some positives and negatives to point to. Schematically not very good yet, but I think individually from Jared Vanderbilt to DeAndre, definitely a lot to like here so far, too. And with that being said, what do you guys think? What do you take from their first preseason game? Both from an offensive, defensive, and an individual standpoint, too. Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below. But I think that’ll pretty much do it for this one. And if you enjoyed the video, then I’ll greatly appreciate it if you dropped a like, subscribe to the channel if you have not already, and hit that notification bell to never miss out when I upload a video. But as always, thank you for watching and have a great day or night. [Music]

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