After losing their preseason opener on Saturday to the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers took the court in Las Vegas, Nev., on Monday versus the Brooklyn Nets.
From the start, the game was a shootout. Both teams launched 3-pointers with regularity and made a good number of them. The Lakers built a lead that ballooned to 19 points at one time, but Brooklyn fought back and made the game competitive in the second half.
Buy Lakers TicketsHead coach Darvin Ham played one starter — Austin Reaves — in the second half. As he did on Saturday, he gave players deep in the rotation, including five rookies, a great deal of playing time down the stretch. Big man Colin Castleton and wing Maxwell Lewis made enough plays at both ends of the floor in the final minutes to give L.A. a 129-126 win.
There were three main things fans can take away from Monday’s exhibition contest.
Anthony Davis seems to be in midseason form already
Davis came out strong again on Monday, just as he did on Saturday versus Golden State. He shot 4-of-6 from the field and made all four of his free throws in the first half, giving him 13 points to go along with seven rebounds by halftime. Davis also made an impact defensively with three blocked shots.
He didn’t play in the second half, as the Lakers went almost exclusively with their reserves in the second half. But Davis looks to be in great shape with about two weeks to go before the start of the regular season.
Rui Hachimura looks sharp
Whether he starts or plays a sixth-man role this season, Hachimura looks poised to have a big year. He was a bit quiet on Saturday, but he was on point versus Brooklyn.
In 20 minutes, he shot 8-of-14 from the field and went 2-of-5 from beyond the arc to score 19 points. He got the job done from all three levels: downtown, mid-range and near the rim.
Hachimura worked out pretty extensively with LeBron James during the offseason and it looks like that work is going to pay off.
The Lakers' defense still needs work
Los Angeles gave up 125 points to the Warriors on Saturday, and its defensive woes continued on Monday when it surrendered 126 points on 50.6 percent shooting and 39.5% from 3-point range.
While free agent pickup Jaxson Hayes grabbed seven rebounds in 21 minutes, he didn’t block a single shot, and his defense at or near the rim looked soft. While some of the Lakers’ defensive ineptness had to do with the novel lineups they put on the floor, they also gave up 35 points in the first quarter when they played mostly their regulars.
