National Basketball Association

Lakers: 3 Takeaways From the Preseason Loss vs Portland Trailblazers

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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April 3, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) moves the ball against Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (6) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday night the Los Angeles Lakers looked to build on their strong preseason start against Damian Lillard and the Portland Trailblazers

Coming fresh off of a win against the Denver Nuggets, Tuesday night represented the first game of the season that could actually be considered a true test to the Lakers’ young core. It even felt more like a real game than the previous three.

Armed with the deadly backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, though fans maintain that Los Angeles should try and emulate what the Warriors have cooking up in Golden State, Portland is another young team who should interest the coaching staff.

Just last season, expectations for the Blazers were about as low as they could get. Losing LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum many thought that the team would try and tank for a coveted lottery pick.

However, defying all odds, the young core led the team to 44 wins, good enough for fifth place in the Western Conference.

The Lakers are in a similar situation this season, so it was interesting to see how they would fare against the Blazers. Here are the three biggest takeaways from Tuesday night’s 106-109 overtime loss.

Oct 4, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (left) handles the ball defended by Los Angeles Lakers center Timofey Mozgov (right) during the first half at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Timofey Mozgov Showing Why the Lakers Signed Him

By now you know just how fans feel about the decision to sign Timofey Mozgov, but through the first few games of the preseason, he is already off to a solid start.

Though the stats might not tell the whole story, what Mozgov brings to the defensive end of the floor is invaluable. Coach Luke Walton even went so far as to say that he is the best defender in the league at utilizing the verticality rule, and he might be right.

On what feels like every occasion the ball gets into the paint – and through four games, that has been on a ton of possessions – Mozzy is always there to challenge, forcing the shooter into a tough shot. The problem is, after he does that, his teammates haven’t been around to scoop up the easy defensive rebound, which has led to multiple second chance points for the opposition.

Russell finds Mozgov!!! https://t.co/JGaHhDSzq8

— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) October 12, 2016

Further, on the offensive side of the ball, Mozgov is doing exactly what fans who knew anything about him before coming to the Lakers expected him to do: set solid screens, finish hard in the paint and rim run like a mad man on the break.

Say what you will about him, but he looks to be fully capable of serving as the team’s Andrew Bogut this upcoming season.

Sep 26, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton is interviewed by reporters at media day at Toyota Sports Center.. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Starting Unit Continues to Struggle

Whether it is because the second unit is playing so well, or that the starters are actually playing that bad, or a combination of both, the first unit struggles continued against the Portland Trailblazers.

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Giving up 13 quick points to Lillard in the first quarter alone, the starters quickly dug themselves a double digit deficit which Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr and the bench mob quickly made up per usual.

Aside from the obvious fact that the starters are playing against better competition, another reason for the struggles could be the fact that the first unit features a series of ball dominant scorers in an offense that requires constant movement. As is the case with most of the team’s current issues, this should be alleviated with time.

On Tuesday, Coach Luke Walton went with his original starting lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Lou Williams, Luol Deng, Julius Randle and Timofey Mozgov, but began experimenting with different units a few minutes into the second quarter. Inserting Deng, Randle and Williams to accompany Marcelo Huertas and Nick Young, this was one of the first occasions Walton has decided to go small.

This obviously isn’t the Purple and Gold’s go-to small ball “death lineup,” but the fact that we’re seeing Randle at the center should be encouraging. Surprisingly, the unit that started the second half – Russell, Williams, Young, Randle, Mozgov – fared much better than the actual starters.

Oct 9, 2016; Ontario, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle (30) and forward Nick Young (0) celebrate against the Denver Nuggets at Citizens Business Bank Arena. The Lakers defeated the Nuggest 124-115. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Julius Randle Shows Signs of Progress

In the first half of the contest, it was the same frustrating brand of basketball that we’ve seen from Julius Randle on more occasion than one: relying solely on his physicality to get points and rebounds, being a ball stopper in the half court, being too selfish on the fast break.

However, in the second half, he seemed to be a completely different player. Contesting and blocking shots on the defensive end, hitting shooters on the fast break and setting solid screens, it was like night and day.

In the offseason, it was assumed that Walton would try to have Randle fit into the Draymond Green role for the Lakers and if it continues his progression, he could be on his way to doing just that.

Yes, Randle has a lot to work on before even being in the same conversation as Green, but the work he put into his jumpshot this off season is another encouraging sign. Though he’s not completely confident in shooting it yet, he is willing to shoot it, and that’s more than can be said for last year.

Randle definitely needs to keep progressing, paying specific attention to how his ball stopping negatively affects the team, but Tuesday night’s contest was an impressive step in the right direction.

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