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As the LA Lakers begin their official training camp ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season, the chemistry building and familiarization process between teammates and coaching staff is also underway.
With no shortage of talent on hand, LA Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has the opportunity to experiment with a number of potential lineup combinations. Aiming to effectively distribute his players' minutes, Vogel provided an insight into his plans for the upcoming preseason games.
"We’re starting hard with practice, we’re going to go after it. Today, tonight will be a lot of system implementation, no contact with full-speed and in terms of the preseason games, just striking a balance. Our main guys are not going to play all the games. I don’t want to put a number on how many they’re going to play, but it’d be nice to probably get at least two games where our core is playing significant minutes together, if not the whole game. But it’s just a matter of striking that balance. The six games give us a luxury to play some of the guys towards the end of the bench too to get a better look at them.”
As the LA Lakers get ready to face the Brooklyn Nets for their first preseason matchup on October 4th, Frank Vogel is attempting to properly establish a system within which the team can function.
What is the LA Lakers' strategy with the new team?
The current LA Lakers Big Three consists of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the newly-acquired Russell Westbrook. While James and Davis have won a title together, after last season's misery, Westbrook's addition is an attempt to return the team to championship form.
The majority of players on the roster are familiar names. Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard fit right in with Vogel's system, having played in it before. Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore and Wayne Ellington are players who have been with the Lakers in the past as well, although they never played together.
As good as Russell Westbrook has proven himself to be, his talents would be wasted if he didn't fit the system. Frank Vogel is looking to integrate Russell Westbrook into the LA Lakers' system properly while also adapting to him. Playing him alongside LeBron and Davis in 5-on-5 scrimmages and rotating the core with the other teammates will be a great way to help him find his feet.
The decision to limit the number of games the core team plays in preaseason could pay dividends going into the regular-season. The Lakers' age factor has been harped on since the early days of the offseason. But the truth of the matter remains that keeping the core ready to go when the season is underway is a lot more important to keep the Lakers' championship hopes alive.
As the training camp continues, the experienced roster of the LA Lakers will look to adjust among itself and strike a balance before heading into what could hopefully be a successful postseason campaign.
Also check out: Complete NBA Preseason TV Schedule for 2021
