Welcome to the Lakers Newsletter. As you read this, we’re probably standing at the airport.
The NBA schedule is in full swing. The chaos that JJ Redick mentioned earlier in the season has arrived. The Lakers played the game with seven players on standard contracts. Austin Reeves had a long run, scoring 51 points one game, 41 points the next, and hitting the game-winning run the next. Nick Smith Jr. threw up in the hallways of the Moda Center and gave up 25 points against the Portland Trail Blazers.
But through it all, the Lakers believe their 6-2 start is due to something that can’t be measured in the box score.
“Playing Lakers basketball”
It seems like there are advanced statistics about everything now. As a mathematician, I wholeheartedly welcome the nerdification of sports. But what Redick preaches most to his team is something that can’t be quantified.
Just “play hard.”
It sounds easy, but there’s actually a wrong way to do it.
“That’s what we call ‘fake hustle,'” guard Marcus Smart said. “It’s all for the camera. It’s just to look good so it doesn’t become an issue in the film room. But when you’re playing hard, you can feel it. You can feel the way you’re playing, you can feel the energy. Your body feels it. Your mind feels it. And you’d be surprised how the game goes because of that.”
The Lakers’ determination to play hard early in the season has helped them weather the injury storm and roster uncertainty. In games without Luka Doncic, they have 3 wins and 1 loss. One of those wins is without Doncic and Austin Reeves, and all of them are on the road. LeBron James hasn’t played a minute this season.
“Some of the things we’re working on now we weren’t doing until mid-to-late January last year,” Reddick said before the Lakers’ game against Memphis.
Understandably, just hours after praising his team’s consistent competitiveness, Redick was frustrated by the second-quarter struggles against the Grizzlies. He called the players who allowed Memphis 19 unanswered points in the second quarter “zombies.”
No, things aren’t perfect yet.
But in a long season, it makes sense to get an early glimpse of some of the intangible qualities of a championship team, while the elements of the team haven’t yet come together. Redick praised his team’s confidence, belief and collaboration in defeating Portland without Doncic or Reaves. Getting some or all of their star players back would change the face of what the team ultimately accomplishes in April, May or — they hope — June, but the Lakers don’t want that to affect what they do that night.
“I think it all started in training camp, really just giving it his all and JJ didn’t care who was there,” center Deandre Ayton said. “He wants to play Lakers basketball.”
After the Lakers defeated the Grizzlies, Smart gave the team a B+ for intensity of play. But after Smith scored 25 points off the bench in Monday’s win over Portland, Smart upgraded his rating to B++.
Therefore, there is still room for growth in this report card.
new boss in town
The Lakers officially have a new majority owner.
Mark Walter’s acquisition of the Lakers was unanimously approved by the NBA Board of Governors last Thursday. It’s been a monumental week for the billionaire. The day after the sale was finalized, Walter won his second Commissioner’s Trophy in as many years with the Dodgers, who won the World Series in an epic Game 7. And on Sunday, Walter wore a royal blue Dodgers jacket and sat courtside at Crypto.com Arena, watching the Lakers beat the Heat. Arena employees shook Walter’s hand, perhaps thanking him for bringing another championship to Los Angeles, and already dreaming of the next one that would come true in the purple and gold.
Reddick said he spoke with Walter briefly after the news and came away impressed by Walter’s eagerness to learn about the new league.
“Baseball is an individual sport disguised as a team sport. It’s something different,” Reddick said. “Daryl Morey said it best on a podcast a few years ago. He said that today’s NBA is the equivalent of the Giants when Barry Bonds was in his prime, where you basically get to step up to bat every time, and not only that, but you get to choose who you throw to every time. … The impact of a star player, a player like Luka, a player like LeBron, a player like AR, is unlike any other sport.”
Favorite thing I ate this week
When my Uber driver dropped me off at my hotel in Portland, we passed a food truck around the corner. He invited me to stop by for lunch. Little did he know, I was already surveilling the entire area and had a target locked on.
Tokyo Sand’s miso pork cutlet sandwich felt like the perfect dish after a chaotic rebuild.
In case you missed it
Until next time…
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