Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, where we’re probably in an airport as you read this.
The NBA calendar is in full swing. The chaos evoked by JJ Redick at the start of the season has arrived. The Lakers played a game with seven players on standard contracts. Austin Reaves lit up for centuries, scoring 51 runs in one game, 41 in the next, then hitting the winner in the one after that. Nick Smith Jr. vomited in the hallway of the Moda Center, then dropped 25 on the Portland Trail Blazers.
But despite all that, the Lakers attribute their 6-2 start to something that can’t be measured in box scoring.
“Play Lakers basketball”
There seems to be advanced statistics for everything now. As a mathematician, I wholeheartedly embrace the nerdification of sports. But what Redick preaches most to his team is something that can’t be quantified.
Just “play hard”.
It sounds simple, but in reality, there is a way to go wrong.
“That’s what we call a ‘fake hustle,’” guard Marcus Smart said. “It’s all for the cameras. It’s just to look good so you don’t get in trouble in the film room. But when you play hard, you can feel it. You can feel the way you play, you can feel the way the energy. Your body can feel it. Your mind can feel it. And you’d be surprised at the outcome of the game because of that.”
The Lakers’ early-season commitment to simply playing hard helped them weather storms of injuries and roster uncertainty. They went 3-1 in games without Luka Doncic. One of those wins was without Doncic and Austin Reaves, and all were on the road. LeBron James hasn’t even played a minute this season.
“There are some things we’re doing right now that we didn’t do until mid-January of last year,” Redick said before the Lakers’ game against Memphis.
Naturally, just hours after praising his team’s consistent competitiveness, Redick was frustrated with the second quarter effort against the Grizzlies. He called his players “zombies” as they let Memphis score 19 unanswered points in the second quarter.
So no, things aren’t perfect yet.
But in a long season, with pieces that are still finding their way together, any first glimpse of some of those intangible qualities of the championship team is significant. Redick praised his team’s confidence, belief and connectedness in the win over Portland without Doncic or Reaves. Getting some or all of their stars back will change the complexion of what this team ultimately achieves in April, May or — they hope — June, but the Lakers don’t want that to affect what they do on any given night.
“I think it started in training camp, just really going as hard as I could, JJ not caring who’s out there,” center Deandre Ayton said. “He wants to play Laker basketball.”
After the Lakers beat the Grizzlies, Smart gave the team a B+ for playing difficulty. But after Monday’s win at Portland in which Smith scored 25 points coming off the bench, Smart improved the grade to B++.
So there is still room to grow on this report card.
A new boss in town
Mark Walter, new majority owner of the Lakers.
(Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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 was a monumental week for the billionaire. A day after the sale was final, Walter hoisted the Commissioner’s Trophy for the second time in as many years with the Dodgers, who won the World Series in an epic Game 7. Then on Sunday, Walter sat courtside at Crypto.com Arena in a royal blue Dodgers jacket to watch the Lakers defeat the Heat. An arena employee shook Walter’s hand, probably thanking him for bringing another championship to Los Angeles and already dreaming of the next one that might come for the purple and gold.
Redick said he spoke briefly with Walter after the news and came away impressed with Walter’s enthusiasm to learn about a new league.
“Baseball is an individual sport disguised as a team sport. It’s a different thing,” Redick said. “Daryl Morey said it best on a podcast a few years ago. He said the NBA is now the equivalent of the Giants when Barry Bonds was in his prime, basically he could hit it every time and not only that, pick who threw it to him every time. That’s what the NBA is. … The impact of star players, a guy like Luka, a guy like LeBron, a guy like AR, it’s just different than any other sport. “
My favorite thing to eat this week
Miso pork katsu sando from Tokyo Sando food cart in Portland.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
As my Uber driver dropped me off at my hotel in Portland, we passed a collection of food trucks on the street corner. He recommended that I stop for lunch. Little did he know, I had already explored the entire area and had my target locked on.
Tokyo Sando’s miso pork katsu sando looked like culinary perfection after a back-to-back chaotic flip.
In case you missed it
No Big 3, no problem: Nick Smith Jr. helps Lakers to fourth straight win
Jake LaRavia will no longer be unknown to Lakers fans with plays like this
Luka Doncic drops triple-double to propel Lakers to victory over Heat
Luka Doncic returns and Lakers earn road win in Memphis
NBA approves Buss family’s sale of Lakers to Dodgers majority owner Mark Walter
Austin Reaves scores winner as Lakers hold on to defeat Timberwolves
Until next time…
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