A.D. Lane

Reaves has made eight of his first 13 threes. The Lakers should chase more good attempts from him, with expectations grounded in his longer shooting record.

The charge and the steal mattered in Utah. So did the opening physicality JJ Redick criticized. The Lakers should demand the engaged version of Doncic from the tip.

Green says voters are bored with Luka. The ballot history says voters keep rewarding repeat greatness. What has cost Doncic is missed games and a team that finished fourth last season.

Doncic scored 52 in a 132-123 win at Utah. The Lakers' drop from 21 turnovers to 10 gave his shooting a better chance to decide the game.

Mamukelashvili made 115 threes for Toronto last season. Give that shot a trial at power forward, with Walker Kessler handling the center assignment.

The Lakers' wings should keep attacking the ball with Kessler behind them. Friday also showed why the next defender's decision matters as much as the first swipe.

Kessler has made 4 of 9 free throws as a Laker after shooting 54.5% across his Utah career. Keep his defense on the floor, but rehearse the possessions that could send him to the line.

Utah grabbed 14 offensive rebounds Friday. Kessler's return to Salt Lake City should be a test of whether the Lakers can finish the possessions he helps defend.

Williams spent two Brooklyn seasons taking most of his shots from three. His Lakers role should make better use of what he does near the basket.

Ian Begley's report gives Knecht a possible next stop. It doesn't tell us someone would have paid the Lakers for his old deal.

Vanderbilt took more threes and collected a smaller share of offensive rebounds last season. The Lakers should reverse those priorities.

Reaves scored 28 and Kessler blocked six shots in a 125-117 win over the Clippers. The Lakers' 21 turnovers should keep a 2-0 start from feeling comfortable.

Reaves reached the line more often in 51 games last season than in 73 the year before. The Lakers should keep giving him possessions to attack beside Luka Doncic.

Sexton is off the injury report for Friday's Clippers game. His return should give the Lakers another creator without squeezing out Grimes after a useful opener.

The Warriors rookie made his feelings clear. Luka's better answer is to keep his edge, skip the technicals and let the Lakers' offense settle the argument.

Redick calls adversity his biggest unknown. I want patience with missed shots, a clear standard for missed assignments and a fair run for his starting forwards.

The full-page LA Times ad is a welcome statement of ambition. I want its promise of effort to become a standard Luka applies to himself.

Kessler went 12 of 12 for 26 points in his Lakers debut. A 66% shooter does that about once in 140 tries. The 10 dunks are the part worth planning around.

Reaves prefers talking to teammates individually. I like that approach, provided the conversations produce clearer decisions on the floor and include Luka Doncic.

Carr's Baylor shooting gives the Lakers a useful place to start. Give him a narrow wing role beside a creator, then make him earn more responsibility.

Doncic's two-point shooting and trips to the line give the Lakers a better opening-night starting point than a contest of difficult threes.

Doncic played 38 or more minutes in 27 of his 64 games last season, then went down in a 96-139 loss at Oklahoma City on April 2 and missed the entire playoffs. I would take a few lost regular-season wins over that.

Knecht made 37.6% of his threes as a rookie and played 10.2 minutes a game last season. His preseason (3-of-12 from the field) is a bad reason to give a 25-year-old first-round pick away for nothing.

Thybulle's steal rate last season was two and a half times Marcus Smart's, and he made 41.1% of his threes over the past two seasons. He also played only 45 games in those two years.

Bronny has 11 points and 12 turnovers in four preseason games. Last season he turned it over 25 times in 375 minutes. The sample is bad, and it is also 70 minutes.

LaRavia shot 35.3% from three over his first 39 games last season and 27.9% over the last 43. He is 6-of-11 this preseason, and the more telling number is how often he shoots.

Doncic and Reaves committed 13 of the Lakers' 67 preseason turnovers in about 9% of the minutes. That is a bad rate, but the other 54 came from everyone else, including a night they both sat.

Sexton shot 40.1% from three and .615 true shooting for Charlotte and Chicago last season. Grimes and Bronny James are well behind him, and Redick says he is dealing with a lower leg injury.

Walker Kessler grabbed 21.9% of the available rebounds when he was on the floor in Utah. Kevon Looney's rate is within two points of that. Sandro Mamukelashvili's is 12.8%.

LeBron James took 1,989 minutes, about 13% of the points and one in five of the assists with him to Philadelphia. The new shooters help the spacing. The playmaking hole is the one still open.

Five of Jeanie Buss's six siblings filed their formal opposition Wednesday. The hearing on her petition is now set for after the November league vote the buyers are expecting.

Without Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler, the Lakers lost 124-98 in San Francisco. JJ Redick was right to be angry, but the game was an audition for the last rotation spots.

Kessler's camp convinced the Jazz he would take the qualifying offer and walk in 2027. The Lakers paid two unprotected firsts to get him. He says his shoulder has never felt better, and the depth behind him is thin.