National Basketball Association

Lakers Season Opener: 5 Things To Watch For

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

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Oct 9, 2016; Ontario, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton reacts against the Denver Nuggets at Citizens Business Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

For Los Angeles, the Lakers season opener means the official beginning of the post-Kobe Bryant era — and much more.

At long last, all of the talk surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers will be put to rest and we’ll get to see what they’re really made of.

To begin the 2016-17 season, the Lakers home opener will be against the Houston Rockets.

James Harden, an Oklahoma City sixth man turned savior in Houston, will have his hands full in D’Angelo Russell.

Russell’s improvements have come quicker than most expected. Summer league showed that Russell’s confidence in his game has improved, as well as his confidence in his teammates.

Houston got into the playoffs as the eighth and final seed before being manhandled by an unfair Golden State squad.

This year could prove to be more of the same, as only time will tell how good the Rockets really are.

Dwight Howard jumped ship in the off-season to join the Atlanta Hawks, so that too will be a factor in the game against the Lakers.

In order for Los Angeles to get the win, their young core is going to have to shine.

The future does look promising, that much is fair to say, but to expect anything magnificent right off the bat is only kidding yourself.

Realistically, the Pacific division is still able to hold its own — and that means the Lakers are still ways away from truly becoming competitors.

They’re not far behind, but they’re behind far enough.

With that in mind, here are the five big things to look for as Houston and Los Angeles square off at Staples Center on Wednesday night.

Luke Walton has to show up

Oct 19, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton (right) talks to an official during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Valley View Casino Center. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles went all in on the idea of changing their identity in the off-season.

That sort of a change isn’t complete without a shift in head coach, which the team achieved by sending Byron Scott on his way.

While turning to another former player to try and coach their young team has its concerns, it’s up to Luke Walton if he’s going to continue treating the job like he did in the beginning.

One of the major problems under Byron Scott was a lack of chemistry.

Not only were there problems between teammates, but the relationship between their then-rookie point guard and the coach weren’t great.

D’Angelo Russell was at the center of both major chemistry issues, but his work in the pre-season has told us he’s move don.

Leading the team without Kobe Bryant will be a big enough challenge — Luke Walton has to lead the charge.

Julius Randle must exert himself

Dec 12, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle (30) brings the ball up the court during the third quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Lakers 126-97. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

For the young core in L.A. to fully develop, Julius Randle must not only understand his role, but execute it.

To be fair, Randle only has one year of experience that really counts, as his initial rookie campaign ended early due to injury.

It would be wrong to consider Randle a leader of the team, but it would also be incorrect to let him slide in terms of production on the floor.

The Rockets have plenty of weapons, but the Lakers can stop them with good defense.

In just under 26 minutes per game against Houston, Randle averages just 12 points.

Scoring isn’t his forte or strength, per say, so the Lakers will have to do what they can with his input there. Where it really counts with Julius Randle is his rebounding.

Against the Rockets, he’s averaged 9.5 rebounds per game and he’ll need to have at least that to give the Lakers a chance at starting the season on a positive note.

Leadership opportunities for Jordan Clarkson

Apr 10, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson (6) defends against Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley (2) during the first half at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

An iconic passing of the torch moment happening during the final regular season game for the Lakers a year ago.

While it was Kobe Bryant’s final game, one thing stood out more than his incredible 60-point performance.

During the closing moments against the Jazz, Bryant got a rebound before throwing it long distance to Jordan Clarkson for a slam dunk that sent a message.

It’s his time now.

Los Angeles may have D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and even Brandon Ingram to look forward to, but Clarkson needs to step up.

Kobe Bryant could easily be described as more of a distraction than anything else last year for this team, and now that he’s gone, they can really get to work.

Clarkson averaged 15 points and four rebounds per game last year — numbers that must improve for this team to truly compete.

Going up against the Rockets, Clarkson can again prove his explosiveness and also confirm that the Lakers front office made a good decision by re-signing him in the off-season.

Contributions from Thomas Robinson

Oct 21, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Thomas Robinson (15) reaches for the ball between Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) and center Tyson Chandler (4) during a preseason NBA game at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The newest Lakers player could prove to be the most important on opening night.

Former Brooklyn Net Thomas Robinson made the final roster cuts in Los Angeles following the team’s decision not to keep Yi Jianlian or Anthony Brown.

Robinson has played for five other teams besides the Lakers in just four years of action in the NBA.

He averages four points and five rebounds as of last year, but did enough in the pre-season and off-season to impress the coaching staff and front office.

Now he gets to prove himself when the games count.

If Robinson can be effective against the Rockets, there’s hope that he’ll be effective throughout the entire season.

Look for him to try and make another good impression tonight at Staples Center.

Nick Young can finally redeem himself

Oct 19, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Nick Young (0) gestures after making a three point basket during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Valley View Casino Center. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

No, this is not a drill.

Most of us thought that forward Nick Young wouldn’t be on the Lakers by the time the season started, if not before that. To our surprise, we were wrong, and Young was given a chance to stay on the team.

Believe it or not, head coach Luke Walton has had praise for Young despite his struggles both on and off the floor a year ago.

According to a report from SB Nation’s Silver Screen & Roll, Walton thinks Young’s pre-season performance was one of the best for anyone on the team.

Whoa.

Young had averages of seven points and two rebounds in 2015-16, so to expect more than that would be placing the bar a little too high.

It’s not like the fact that he’s still on the team or relevant in general isn’t shocking enough.

Final Thoughts

Los Angeles clearly wants to send a message in the regular season, and what better way to do it than your home opener?

We saw chemistry flaws from the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night in their opener, but the Lakers have a chance to be more close knit than even them.

The reason for this comes in the mutual respect shown under Luke Walton.

As indicated before, and pretty obvious for any fans watching last year, mutual respect was not always present.

Now that those things are taken care of, Walton expects the best from the team — period.

While winning is the obvious goal, the Lakers will also be looking to grow in the long term and using this season’s experiences for the better.

Tip off tonight will be at 10:30 pm ET / 7:30 pm PT.

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