After two lackluster preseason performances, the Lakers looked like a team that just had a week of practice on Sunday. Despite being without Luka Dončić and Marcus Smart — as well as LeBron James, obviously
— the Lakers jumped out quickly in the first, taking advantage of a similarly-weakened Warriors side.
A whole bunch of players stood out in different ways, which is the most encouraging takeaway from this game. While Austin Reaves had a team-high 21 points, four of the five starters finished in double figures. The vibes coming out of this game are significantly better than they were through the first two contests, when fans had to find positives despite a loss.
So, let’s dive into the loss. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
Also, it’s preseason, guys. Let’s keep that in mind, too.
Jarred Vanderbilt
24 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3-9 FG, 0-4 3PT, +1
It’s clear that Vando is healthy and has made improvements in his game. He’s not just a better finisher around the rim, but he’s more confident, too.
However, he’s 3-pointer doesn’t really seem any more reliable. He’s now 1-10 from three in the preseason and the misses are still bad ones. Soon, the Lakers may need to get to a point where they don’t put him in the corner from threes.
Grade: B+
Rui Hachimura
27 minutes, 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 6-10 FG, 3-4 3PT, 1-1 FT, +5
After two lackluster preseason games, Rui looked a lot more aggressive in this one. He knocked down shots open shots and created some jumpers for himself, too.
The one negative was the four turnovers, but it was a strong game overall.
Grade: A-
Deandre Ayton
26 minutes, 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 6-8 FG, 2-2 FT, +3
Ayton, meanwhile, has had a strong preseason throughout with Sunday being his best statistical night. He looked good on pick and rolls, converting on his midrange shots and floaters. That’ll be a big part of his game this season and it was nice to see him develop some chemistry with Reaves.
Grade: A
Dalton Knecht
34 minutes, 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 4-9 FG, 2-5 3PT, 6-8 FT, +6
As is often the case, Dalton did some scoring in garbage time, but he did have stretches of looking strong with the starters. He was certainly aggressive during his time with the starting lineup, but the shots weren’t always falling. Still, the eight free throws is encouraging and overall this was a good showing from him, too.
Grade: B+
Austin Reaves
23 minutes, 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 7-10 FG, 2-4 3PT, 5-6 FT, +8
Before exiting the game after taking a knee to his leg, which head coach JJ Redick said postgame he was fine from, Reaves looked completely in a groove. He was knocking down shots, breaking down defenders, making reads. It was the full Reaves game and should give plenty of optimism just over a week before the season.
Grade: A
Jake LaRavia
28 minutes, 11 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 4-13 FG, 1-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, +12
LaRavia’s had an odd preseason. He has yet played in the role he’ll likely feature in during the regular season, which has led to him not really finding a rhythm shooting the ball or offensively in general. Still, he showed enough other things tonight to show why he’ll have value.
Grade: B-
Gabe Vincent
22 minutes, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3-8 FG, 2-4 3PT, 5-5 FT, +2
One of the other big positives of this preseason is that this is the best Vincent has looked in a Lakers uniform. He’s taking and making threes with confidence, which will be his biggest role on this team.
Grade: A-
Bronny James
16 minutes, 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1-2 FG, 5-5 FT, +6
Is Bronny better than last year? Yes. Is he good enough to play against rotation NBA players? Jury’s still out on that one but I’m leaning toward no. That being said, the best way to improve is to get reps in games so I’m not against him getting spot minutes and being the next guy up when a guard in the rotation is out.
Grade: B-
Jaxson Hayes
14 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2-4 FG, 1-4 FT
A fairly standard Hayes performance. He’ll look better when his minutes come alongside Reaves and Luka and LeBron and not Bronny. Hopefully the Lakers’ lobs look better when they start playing regularly, too.
Grade: B
R.J. Davis, Christian Koloko, Nick Smith Jr., Nate Williams
The group that closed out the game looked decent. Davis continues to impress. Koloko had four assists. Smith Jr. got to the rim a couple times. All positive showings in limited minutes for them.
JJ Redick
The team looked drastically better after a second week of practice than after the first, which is a good sign. Hard to take too many other takeaways from coaching in a preseason game than that.
Grade: B+
Sunday’s DNPs: Chris Mañon, Augustas Marčiulionis, Anton Watson
Sunday’s inactives: Maxi Kleber, Marcus Smart, LeBron James, Adou Thiero
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.
