The niceties and grand pronouncements of NBA media day are behind us, and that means the work of practice and conditioning now kicks into gear for players. That was the case of the Lakers, who have been conducting the first practices of what is mostly a new group of players–seven players from last year’s team are back, and just three of the players (Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Jake LaRavia) who were in the Top 8 in minutes played on the roster.
The Lakers will have three new starters, and of the 10 players likely to get the most minutes this season, seven are new guys. That’s not a bad thing for a team that was looking to remake itself around Doncic after the departure of LeBron James, but it is also a tough situation when it comes to building a key component of any basketball team: chemistry.
Luka Doncic: ‘Don’t Know’ How to Speed Up Chemistry
That is a bit of a challenge for any team that must take the floor together 82 times in a year–plus flights, bus rides, and locker room time–but especially a team stocked with players that are still learning each others’ preferences and habits. At Lakers practice this week, Doncic was asked about the task of building chemistry on and off the floor with this team.
He was asked about “fast-tracking” chemistry, but seemed to be focused on taking it one practice at a time: “I honestly don’t know. Some things [we’re] going to figure out quicker, some things are going to figure out later…I feel like we had a great first practice. A lot of teaching points. So I think it was a great practice.”
Lakers Team Took Trip to Slovenia
Of course, one of the big features of the Lakers’ offseason was the September trip that Doncic arranged and paid for to his home country of Slovenia, which featured all Lakers players except rookie Cameron Carr, who had a league-mandated rookie workshop to attend. That was Doncic’s top attempt to bring the team together, create some chemistry and establish himself as a team leader.
Said Doncic about the trip: ““I think there’s a lot of new guys on the team. I think building chemistry is very important, so I think that was the first thought. Just to get the guys together. That’s why I wanted to do it. …
“But basketball-wise, just trying to pull every day and trying to be a leader. Five years ago, I was in my second, third year in the league. I wasn’t the leader I was supposed to be. So I think leadership is an important part in my case now. We spend a lot of time together in the season, but it’s mostly basketball. Now is the time to do some other things. Get to know each other.”
Lakers’ Luka Doncic Still Dealing With ‘Hard Question’ in Camp