The Lakeshow Review

Following a poor performance against the crosstown-rival Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers took the floor in Las Vegas to face off against bitter rivals, the Boston Celtics. Despite an up and down game for roughly three quarters, one that saw a healthy amount of lead changes, the Celtics eventually managed to pull away and defeat the Lakers by a final score of 87-78. The loss marks the Lakers’ third defeat of Vegas Summer League thus far, dropping their overall record to 1-3. The team got off to a solid start, having led the Celtics 26-21 after the opening quarter. However, they followed that with a 9 point second quarter as they entered halftime down by 5 points, and never quite recovered. This was one of those games were the team simply looked flat, unfocused and undisciplined as they were outplayed by a superior and better-coached Celtics group. Not to mention their carelessness led to 21 turnovers to Boston’s 16, and their lack of playmaking producing only 17 team assists to Boston’s 21. To add insult to injury (quite literally), forward Darius Bazley who’d been one of the few standouts in Lakers Summer League thus far, sustained what appeared to be a leg injury and exited the court by way of a wheelchair. Incredibly disappointing, as he had performed at a high level during the first couple of Summer League outings, and will now likely see his journey back to the NBA (he played overseas last season) be put in jeopardy. Hopefully the big guy will be OK, but it didn’t look to good. He left the game with 8 points and 4 boards in 8 minutes, as he appeared to be on his way to yet another good game for the team. All in all, it was a very lethargic showing by the young Lakers, with some bright spots to be had, but not enough to secure the win.

Bronny James continued his improvement, and was perhaps the Lakers’ best player tonight, going for 18 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists on on 7-13 shooting from the field (including 1-4 from three). He looked sharp at times, attacking the half-court defense on drives to the rim and showing off strides with his finishing ability. On the down side, he turned the ball over 8 times, mostly while playing the role of initiator on the pick and roll. Some of it was his teammates not rolling to the basket with conviction, but some of it was also his timing on passes. Often taking bad passing angles or attempting to thread tight windows. That’s what Summer League is for I suppose, so it’s good for Bronny to get those reps in. But I have to go back to what I mentioned a few entries back in that LA simply lacks a true initiator and floor general. They currently don’t have that player on this Summer League group. The offense looks disjointed and it’s hard to get into any type of flow within the half-court, as they rely on rudimentary stuff like handoffs and high ball screens top create shots, all of which good defenses can easily snuff out. It’s a shame that exhibit-10 prospect Augustas Marčiulionis has been unavailable for SL due to injury, as he would’ve made an exciting addition for a team starved for ballhandling and playmaking. Hopefully we’ll see more of him come training camp and pre-season.

Dalton Knecht had another sub-par showing. In fact, with the exception of the second game of the Cali classic versus San Antonio, Knecht has been pretty bad in every SL game so far. Definitely an underwhelming sign, considering that this is a player who was a standout in the SEC two years ago and showed major scoring potential during his rookie year with the Lakers. Against mostly G-Leaguers and NBA hopefuls, one would expect Dalton to look like doesn’t belong in Vegas Summer League, in a good way. Unfortunately that hasn’t quite materialized. Tonight he scored just 8 points on 3-12 shooting (and 1-4 from three). What’s more concerning is that you see other players of objectively lesser status completely outperform him. Most of the Celtics’ wings had no issues getting their shots off and drilling threes, which Knecht has struggled with so far. The shot creation isn’t quite there, neither is the separation or the shot-making. Very disappointing, as I’m expecting big things from Dalton this upcoming season, so this isn’t the best start. Perhaps that midseason almost-trade for Mark Williams messed him up mentally. Although he had strong performances last season post all-star break. Maybe he doesn’t care much for Summer League, and isn’t going all-in. With that said, if he’s playing this way come pre-season, it’ll be time to start asking tough questions regarding Knecht’s future with the team. He was drafted in the first round of last year’s NBA Draft, and it’s imperative for teams in the current CBA landscape to develop their own talent internally. We’ll see where he’s at come October. Maybe playing with high-end playmakers like Luka and Austin Reaves will open up the floor for him and help his confidence, or at least I hope.

Christian Koloko had another encouraging game, collecting 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, to go with 6 blocks (his interior defense was tremendous). He’s brought great energy, length and mobility on the front court for the Lakers, and I personally feel like he’s a great guy to have at the G-League level, or as a break-glass emergency for the Lakers and their front court. His rolling game is strong and he can finish at the rim as well. The three ball isn’t quite there, but he can hone his shooting in the G-League. Additionally, Cole Swider also had a good game, producing 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. He only shot 2-7 from beyond the arc, but once again, most of those shots didn’t come from any type of flow or great ball movement. The lack of a true point guard on this Summer League squad truly hurts this team’s ability to generate good looks. The team does move the ball, but there are no natural playmakers or players who pass with purpose. This particularly affects guys like Knecht and Swider, who thrive as catch and shoot options.

Conversely, the Boston Celtics played a very strong team game. They controlled the pace of play, with their energetic defense and aggressive play in transition. Their ball movement was crisp which led to them getting many quality looks from range, which they made at a 32% rate (compared to an abysmal 21% for LA). The Celtic’s G-Leaguers play the exact same way that their NBA team plays. They try to swarm the opponent on defense, then attack the open floor with rhythm and spacing, which leads to a bunch of quality looks from three. They also move the ball exceptionally well. Yes, pretty much their entire roster might not see any time in the NBA this season, but to their credit, they try to maintain a consistent philosophy, whether it’s Vegas Summer League or the NBA. This is the type of structure that the Lakers need to aim for, organizationally speaking. They need to have an identity that permeates the organization from top to bottom. From the NBA roster, to the G-League, to Summer League. So far the Lakers have played disjointed. Many of their high points have from players’ individually shining, despite a lack of team-wide cohesion. They lack structure on offense, as well as a culture for players to adhere to. Yes, even G-Leaguers. They just got smoked by a bunch of no-namers from the Celtics who did the exact opposite. This clearly isn’t the end of the world for the Lakers, but perhaps it is a wakeup call to start investing more resources into advanced scouting and player development. G-League coaches, assistant coaches, the works. Head Coach Lindsay Harding hasn’t done an impressive job in preparing the team for these games, and it shows. This Lakers squad isn’t loaded by any stretch, but they should have the ability to play to their strengths and execute a solid game plan that makes them look up to standard with the rest of Summer League.

There’s a lot of work to do for the Lakers, but for now, I hope they’ll finish strong against the Denver Nuggets, in the Summer League finale tomorrow night. Yeah, these games don’t really matter. But it’s still Lakers basketball, and you still want to see them win. Not to mention, display the type of organizational structure that inspires confidence in the club moving forward. You always have to keep improving. Go Lakers.