Hello everyone. Welcome to the Lakers Newsletter. I’m Thuc Nguyen, Lakers beat writer for the Times. Thank you for the warm welcome to this space (and recommended food). We’re halfway through the preseason and let me tell you, I can’t wait until we get back to playing real basketball again.
We’re at least one step closer to seeing what this Lakers team will actually look like, as Luka Doncic is expected to be on Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns. He is expected to play in two of the final three preseason games, and with back-to-back games coming up, Doncic will most likely finish preseason play Friday against the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena, rather than Wednesday against his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, in Las Vegas.
Doncic’s return may help answer some questions about the Lakers, but there’s still a lot to address with a week until the season opener.
lebron james decision
In case you didn’t know, LeBron James was at the center of a big announcement last week.
No, the Lakers star and my dad don’t have an affinity for Hennessy.
That means James will be sidelined on the right side for three to four weeks. According to the schedule released by the team last Thursday, James will miss the regular season opener against the Golden State Warriors on October 21st. Now in his 23rd year, James still has his first chance left. This will be the first time in his NBA career that he will not play in the season opener.
Coach JJ Redick has tried to downplay preseason decisions regarding the starting lineup, but acknowledged Monday that James’ extended absence “complicates things a little bit.” Reddick said it’s important to find balance in any group, ensuring there’s enough shooting, facilitation and defense while also managing the temperament of each player.
“We have a week to figure it out,” Reddick said Monday. “We’ll see.”
Lakers’ next decision
So who will be of use?
Marcus Smart, who was considered a potential starter even when James was healthy, is scheduled to make his preseason debut on Tuesday. He was battling Achilles tendinopathy until the start of the preseason.
Smart returned to practice last week and was a full participant in Thursday and Saturday practices, impressing Redick with his classic Marcus Smart hustle and defense. Smart’s communication and leadership style was praised, even if he was sidelined.
Smart was already being considered as a possible starter over returner Rui Hachimura, as the Lakers needed a stronger defender on offense. They may have rediscovered another option in Jared Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt, finally healthy again after a lingering foot injury, received rave reviews for his defensive resurgence during training camp. The 6-foot-8 forward had 13 rebounds, four steals and one block in three preseason games. He gained attention by tweaking his shooting mechanics to increase his impact as a potential 3-and-D option.
However, Vanderbilt made just 1-of-10 3-pointers in three preseason games.
The offensive burden in James’ absence will likely fall to either Hachimura or free agent addition Jake LaRabia.
Second-year guard Dalton Knecht could provide some scoring ability off the bench, especially since Coach Redick said Knecht was the team’s best offensive player in training camp. Knecht struggled in summer league due to overtraining in the offseason, but through Sunday he was outscoring his teammates by 42 points in live practice. Redick rewarded him by giving him a start in a home preseason game against the Warriors, where he scored 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.
But the 24-year-old, who was briefly traded last year and only returned if a deal fell through, will need to bring other skills to the table to earn playing time.
“His ceiling will be based on his development this season as a defender,” Reddick said.
Austin Reeves already had the heaviest workload in the preseason, especially with Doncic and James sidelined. Reeves has scored 41 points in 44 minutes over two games, but knows that no amount of herculean effort will be enough to replace James long-term.
“It’s a next-man-up mentality,” Reeves said, echoing a similar message from Doncic. “No one person can fill his job. I can’t be LeBron. I wish I could. But I think we have to do it as a collective group. And that’s what we’ll do.”
Favorite thing I ate this week
While the Lakers spent a precious week at home, I remained on the road for a friend’s wedding in Brooklyn. For me, there’s no better way to celebrate than with dim sum.
We zipped from Brooklyn to the Golden Unicorn in Manhattan. I was too impatient to take pictures of everything there, but the first wave included grilled BBQ pork buns, steamed pork buns, shrimp noodle rolls, shrimp shumai, and fried shrimp balls.
My dim sum staples are har gow and the classic pork and shrimp shumai, but my favorite this time was the mango pudding (unfortunately not pictured). Loaded with chunks of fresh mango, it was the perfect sweet snack before I spent the next few hours in a food coma.
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Until next time…
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