The excitement is real for the Los Angeles Lakers and the new season
Lakers new head coach Frank Vogel instructed the scoreboard operator to put 2 minutes on the clock and have the score read 99–96 in the reserves’ favor. It was time for the Los Angeles Lakers to test out their crunch-time lineup with LeBron James at the point and Anthony Davis at center on Day 5 of training camp Thursday.
Even if James have been the one directing the offense, he didn’t embrace being called a point guard. “It doesn’t matter to me,” James said. “I do whatever it takes for us to win. So it doesn’t matter. I’m a ball player. I’m not a point guard, I’m not a shooting guard, a small forward, power forward or a center. I’m just a ball player. You put me on the floor and I can make things happen with whoever is on the floor. So, I’m just looking forward to getting out there with my teammates because it’s exciting. It’s fun.”
James is about to enter into his 17th season and it looks like coach Vogel is already trusting his star to manage his role — to some extent — as he deems fit. “He’s going to have the green light to defer at any point throughout the game and throughout the season, as he’s done again throughout his whole career, to be the primary playmaker,” Vogel said. “If he’s handled three or four straight times and is winded he can defer and give it to somebody else to bring it up. The great thing is we have wings who can initiate offense but we also play through Anthony Davis at the top, in terms of bringing it up and playing a five out system. His skillset is so ridiculously versatile that we can play through him as well.”
Vogel is excited about the opportunity to coach a guy like Lebron James and not only him but a roster with so much talent and even the idea that he will have available so many experienced players, that’s amazing because that means that he will have so many different options. If you sit down and think that you have:
- Veteran Dwight Howard, who is hungry as hell to win a title and have been through so many injuries that kept him away from the game but now he is back, stronger and mentally oriented and focused on the primary goal, to win a title before he finishes his career. He has accomplished so many things but never lifted up the Larry O’ Brien NBA championship trophy, that is his ultimate goal and he wants to add this award next to his accolades that you can see below:
•Olympic gold medal: 2008
•Eastern Conference Champion: 2009
•3x Southest Division Champion: 2008, 2009, 2010
•3x NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 2009, 2010, 2011
•8 NBA All-Star Selections: 2007–2014 (voted as starter 6 times)
•8 All-NBA Selections: First team (2008–2012), Second team (2014), Third team (2007, 2013)
•5x NBA All-Defensive Selections: First team (2009–2012), Second team (2008)
And More…
He has the experience to play in high-level and that’s the big bet for him this season.
2. Rajon Rondo, who won the championship back in 2008 with the Celtics against the Lakers and has played for 14 years in this league, plus the last five seasons he has played for several teams (Dallas Mavericks 2014–2015, Sacramento Kings 2015–2016, Chicago Bulls 2016–2017, New Orlean Pelicans 2017–2018 and the Lakers 2018–2019). He is one of the smartest point guards, his ability to create plays for his teammates, to facilitate the game for them, his presence from a leadership standpoint, his passion and love for the game and also how competitive he is — are some of his values that this team need to get closer to their goal. Last season he played for 46 games and he averaged 9.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.2 steals for the Lakers.
3. Anthony Davis, who finally got what he asked for — to play for the Lakers after he devoted his first seven years of his career to the New Orlean Pelicans. He wanted to get traded last February, but the negotiations between the two teams didn’t reach an agreement. This summer though, his wish became reality. A top 5 player in this league will play next to one of the best/top players that we have ever seen, Lebron James. Davis is a rim protector, his ability to block opponents’ shots, his ball-handling, his ability to dunk over everybody who dares to get on his way, he can shoot the 3 (33.1% last season) and the mid-range shot (51.7% last season) and the fact that he averages totally in his career: 23.7 points per game, 10.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.4 blocks — all the above and more can show you how dominant he is. Lebron and Davis are already considered arguably the best duo among others and we all look forward to seeing them play together.
4. Danny Green, who won his second NBA championship (first was with the San Amtonio Spurs in 2014) last season with the Toronto Raptors, after being in this league for 10 years. He is known for his perimeter defense and his three point shooting. He has been a key contributor on both sides of the floor throughout his career. Last season he played 80 games during the regular season and he averaged 10.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks.
How can Vogel not to be excited when he has to deal with these guys and not only them, but veteran Jared Dudley, Kyle Kuzma, Quin Cook, JaVale McGee (and the list goes on and on)..? If they stay healthy and manage Lebron’s minutes, realize that it will take some time to get on the same page and work as a team without much ego etc…then the sky is the limit for this team.