Nik Stauskas has been exactly what the Lakers hoped for in the early going
The Los Angeles Lakers are no strangers to long losing streaks. Last year they lost their last 12 straight games, and dropped their final 8 in a row in preseason. Far more rare has been win streaks of even the most minor variety. n fact, you have to go all the way back to the first week in March of last season to find their last consecutive wins. That's a long stretch inability to consistently get the W. But they finally ended that too long cold snap last night. More on that later, because it's long past due to discuss the team's season preview, and it'll be one presented a little differently than the norm, because this year is so out of keeping with traditional Jestorball ideology (Say hello to a 6'9 center and a 6'7 PF in the same lineup).
Offseason Trades
The Lakers opened the offseason trading season with a bombshell that shocked the CSL. Walter Tavares, the epitome of Jestorball big men in many ways, found himself moved out of town for Nik Stauskas, Arturas Gudaitis, and the #11 pick that later turned in to Devin Booker (the Mavericks drafted Larry Nance, Jr at #8). As the team acknowledged, despite their love of Tavares' talent, they just couldn't stomach his inability to stay on the court or his plethora of turnovers in the paint. Stauskas, on the other hand, was the 3 point gunner they'd long searched for, a scorer who would take charge. Press coverage largely favored the Lakers, once the initial shock subsided, and the preseason had chatter of whether Stauskas would be a 20+ PPG player this year - most said no, due to DeMar DeRozan - but it was still a breath of excitement for a franchise long lacking in it.DALLAS MAVERICKS
SENDS
Nik Stauskas - $3,335,832
Arturas Gudaitis - $1,772,900
#11
Total $$$ Sent: $5,108,732
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
SENDS
Walter Tavares - $3,512,620
#8
Total $$$ Sent: $3,512,620
As for Tavares, he's posting career highs in counting stats with 16.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks a game, shooting 56% and coming off the bench for the Mavericks, but he's also turned the ball over 3 times a game in Dallas's blazing offense with no defensive pressure to speak of. More to the point - Dallas is 0-4 on the year, though might finally break through with trips to two of the CSL's worst squads in Oklahoma City and Golden State upcoming.
The deal with the most moving pieces, the trade originally started as Giannis for Pekovic, the Pistons 2019 1st, and the Lakers 2019 2nd. Then the Suns got involved and it morphed two more times into the deal seen here. As lauded as the Stauskas swap was for the Lakers, the Giannis trade was hailed as a victory for the Portland Trailblazers, the Greek Freak almost universally considered one of the league's worst contracts, and to get a presumed late 1st, and what is increasingly looking like a possible early 2nd, to say nothing of an expiring contract of a solid player was deemed excellent value.Los Angeles Lakers send
Nikola Pekovic - $11,600,000
Detroit Pistons 2019 1st
Los Angeles Lakers 2019 2nd
New York Knicks 2018 2nd
Los Angeles Lakers receive
Giannis Antetokounmpo - $11,825,000
CJ Fair - $1,834,782
Milwaukee Bucks 2018 2nd
Total Salary Sent - $11,600,000
Total Salary Received - $13,659,782
Portland Trailblazers send
Giannis Antetokounmpo - $11,825,000
Portland Trailblazers receive
Nikola Pekovic - $11,600,000
Joseph Young - $1,142,974
Detroit Pistons 2019 1st
Los Angeles Lakers 2019 2nd
Total Salary Sent - $11,825,000
Total Salary Received - $12,742,974
Phoenix Suns send
CJ Fair - $1,834,782
Joseph Young - $1,142,974
Milwaukee Bucks 2018 2nd
Phoenix Suns receive
New York Knicks 2018 2nd
Total Salary Sent - $2,977,756
Total Salary Received -$0
Still, the Lakers loved Giannis Antetokounmpo's versatility, and believed they could fix his shooting form. Talk began of an up-tempo offense and shifting the lineup around to move him in whatever position was necessary to help the team win games while they shifted him to be a far more post-oriented shot-taker (just 5% of his attempts in the paint for his current tendencies). And GM Jestor raved about his preternatural athleticism from the Las Vegas Summer League.
Thus far, Nikola Pekovic has been a 20 MPG backup to DeAndre Jordan, and, as expected, is off to the lowest scoring of his career - just 12.3 points a game. It's a trend expected to continue unless injury happens, whereas Joseph Young saw his first game action, with 11 nondescript minutes in a loss to Utah.
Preseason
On paper, a 3-13 record that was an unmitigated disaster from a record perspective, but valuable from a team construction and system one. New head coach Terry Stotts quickly realized an extreme one way or the other of zone wasn't going to work, and the fast-paced offense didn't seem to work, either. What the Lakers determined then, was that they would proceed with the system run by Isiah Thomas and ride it out the first several games to see how it worked - then adjust as necessary.
The lineup was still very much in flux outside of T.J. McConnell returning for his second year at PG and DeMar DeRozan and Nik Stauskas somewhere in the first five (although a failure in deadline submission resulted in Stauskas coming off the bench in Game 1). After initially being relegated to the bench role in preseason, Giannis "The Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo found himself back as a starter, the original versatility plan returned to.
The Early Regular Season
As expected, the first two games were blowout losses to the defending champion Houston Rockets and their fellow Western powerhouse, the New Orleans Pelicans. The organization didn't stress, repeatedly telling everyone that their real season began in Game 3 at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Following a narrow 3 point win, a war of words erupted between the Lakers and the Thunder that added bad blood between the teams. Then came a difficult test against the 76ers in Philly, but the Lakers triumphed in overtime against Jabari Parker's 76ers. It was the first time the Purple and Gold were .500 or better since Game 6 of last year - which leads to questions about the sustainability of that mark (discussed in fuller detail later).
The Key Players
PG TJ McConnell (23) - 2nd Season
He struggled with his shooting in summer league and preseason, but with the advent of the regular season, that slump has corrected itself and he's presently shooting 48.8/60/100 for 13.2 points, 5.8 assists, 1.5 steals. Assists are up and turnovers are down from his rookie year so far, where he finished 2nd in CSL GM Rookie of the Year voting, and it's translated into a 2.9 A/TO ratio. One of the front office's favorite players, what's astounded most observers is that he has 3 double digit points showings in 4 contests, despite not at all being a scorer. But as much as his offensive improvement has drawn praise, it's his defensive leap that's really stood out. From 87.7% drive stop rate on 15.9 drives faced/game to 96.6% drive stop rate on 14.8 faced, and 1.07 PA/SF to 0.68 PA/SF, along with 1.8 TOFC/game. Although trade rumor sites have him listed as a potential move for an upgrade, he's just fitting too well right now as the unsung hero in Los Angeles, playing his role to perfection.
Want more evidence of his elite defense?
That's four different opposing point guards he's held to under 35% shooting, 3 of them under 28%.Bryce Cotton - 4 points - 1 of 3 (33.3%) (Season Low)
Jordan Clarkson - 11 points - 4 of 15 (26.7%) (Season Low)
Terry Rozier - 22 points, but on 5 of 18 (27.8%)
Jeff Teague - 11 points - 3 of 12 (25%)
SG/SF/PF DeMar DeRozan (27) - 8th season
Rumors have linked him to everyone from the Orlando Magic to the New Orleans Pelicans, but word out of the City of Angels repeatedly insists he's not going anywhere. We heard this with Walter Tavares as well, and we all know how that turned out. But Lakers GM Jestor is known for his love of reclamation projects he's personally overseen, and DeRozan fits in that category. Expectations that his scoring production would drop below 20 for the first time in Purple and Gold are true - in fact, only his 24 point outing against the 76ers breaks that mark but he's shooting a career high 63.3% in the first handful of games. And while the 1.2 PA/SF is unsightly, his 58.6% DSR mediocre, his 2.3 TOFC is the only starter above the 2 mark. Oh yeah, that 24 point game? His first start at PF - another tactic widely discussed amongst the Lakers during the offseason. And on 10/14 shooting, which isn't a bad debut at all.
SG/SF Nik Stauskas (22) - 3rd season
The crown jewel in the Tavares trade, every naysayer who said there was no way he was going to break the 20 PPG barrier inspired the third year Michigan product. Lengthy conditioning runs in the summer resulted in a huge endurance spike, and in 3 of 4 games, he's scored 20+ points. He's doing it efficiently as well - 51.5/52.2/85.7 - and has started training to become a pure long range gunner. While his drive stop rate hasn't impressed at 51.4%, he's posting a strong 0.88 PA/SF and is posting a pristine 2.5% TO/TCH ratio - best of any of the Lakers' starters - evidence that he's more than just his present 23.5 PPG on delicious percentages.
Everywhere Giannis Antetokounmpo (23) - 5th Season
That isn't a joke. Antetokounmpo has literally played all five positions on the court at some point for the Lakers in the preseason or regular season, and in the first four games, he's seen minutes at point guard, small forward, power forward, and center. There's a tradition of five position players in Laker history, including Magic Johnson and Lamar Odom. Though nowhere near the talent level of Magic, and less of a skilled rebounder than Odom, the Greek Freak continues that royal lineage of versatility. Like Stauskas, he was inspired by the offseason criticism, and was even more determined to battle back when he logged only backup PG minutes in the first five preseason games. And that fightback has demonstrated itself in a big way so far.
From 11.3 points, 3.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks on 38.1% shooting last year with the Portland Trailblazers to 19 points, 6.3 assists, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks on 46.7% this season. As of press time, he's the team's #2 scorer, #1 rebounder, #1 assist-maker, and #1 shotblocker among those with more than 1 appearance. Stotts can't stop raving about him in post-game press conferences, noting, "Giannis has demonstrated right away that he can be the guy who makes the entire system work. He's definitely on the shortlist for Most Improved Player if he keeps it up, and most likely the odds-on favorite to win it."
Although this breakout will no doubt come as a surprise to most in the CSL, his old team isn't one of those shocked. When the Blazers contacted the Lakers about interest in Giannis, Portland stressed that they believed he could be "a borderline All-Star" once he hit his peak levels and fully corrected his form. "We didn't really believe that," admitted a Lakers insider. "We thought it was typical value hyping, so that didn't factor at all into our decision making. It's also why we weren't willing to include Cliff Alexander without more being added, and that was pre-training camp boom Cliffy."
Already Antetokounmpo has come close to the triple-double mark, putting up 20 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks in a Player of the Game showing over the Thunder, the seventh of his career. Defensively he was doing passably well at stopping drives, until facing Jabari Parker, which caused it to crash 20% in one game. His 1.8 TOFC is tied with McConnell for second best on the roster, and despite Parker's 52 points, Giannis is still posting a solid 0.93 PA/SF. Should he maintain his current trend, there may be a lot of GMs out there who kick themselves for not trying to get him themselves.
A Brief Summary Of The Rest Of The Roster
Big man is clearly the biggest issue for the Lakers (no pun intended). They've had three different starters at the 5 (including the drunk's idea of Anthony Bennett in Game 1). For the foreseeable future, training camp sensation Cliff Alexander will continue to get the nod, with Cristiano Felicio and Rudy Gobert figuring in for minutes. Last season's Media Rookie of the Year Aaron White went from projected starter to reserve, and though he's shown improvement in most statistical areas, he's off to an inexplicably cold start in shooting. Gobert has been hampered by a hip injury, but is shooting the best of his career and posting a dreamy 0.7 PA/SF. Arturas Gudaitis doesn't have any friends in the organization and will almost certainly be traded by Day 60, with the Chicago Bulls the frontrunners for his services. In fact, he was pulled from the active roster for Game 4 after being a coaches' DNP in Game 3.
On the perimeter, Eric Maynor's been struggling in a lot of areas, but is off to a best 44.4% and is stopping 80% of drives. Jimmer Fredette is injury depth. 11th pick Devin Booker saw action the first three games, but sat out the last one due to his 17.6% shooting. 87.5% drive stop rate and 0.72 PA/SF speak to his defensive promise, however. He'll stay the 12th man for now, unless the losses pile up, injuries happen, and/or he shows continued growth in his game. O.J. Mayo has gotten scant minutes in all four games and there's continued speculation he'll be dealt at some point this season. Anthony Bennett had 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in Game 1, but hasn't scored in either of his two games since then, and AB15 is currently on the inactive list. C.J. Fair got his first action last game along with Felicio, and put up 10 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks on 50% shooting in 27 minutes, and with a 0.55 PA/SF, that may be enough to get an extended look as the backup SF.
The Projection
All but the most delusional of Lakers fans tapped the Purple and Gold to have another Top 10 lottery pick season, with the Dallas Morning News projecting 25 wins. Even the front office figured a far back fourth place, ahead of only even worse Golden State in the Pacific. And just 6 points separate the team from 0-4. But they've showed surprising grit for such a young squad, coming back in the fourth quarter to beat the Thunder, and winning a track meet against the playoff favored 76ers in Philadelphia. Is this like last year, where a better than expected start dissolves into disappointment as the season goes on? Or could the Purple and Gold end up this year's biggest surprise team? Difficult to say at this juncture, but one thing that's become more apparent is that Terry Stotts actively seeks to make adjustments, whereas Isiah Thomas never changed anything. The consensus coming into the season was that last year's squad, with McConnell, DeRozan, Wesley Matthews, Taj Gibson, and Walter Tavares was more talented as a darkhorse playoff team in the eyes of some.
But then this happened. Obviously more of a sample size is needed for all of this, but it's nonetheless raised some eyebrows amongst some CSL observers - tiff with the Thunder notwithstanding.
2028