The Lakers open up the 2024 – 2025 season tonight by hosting the new-look Minnesota Timberwolves. It is the start of a new era for the Lakers with the arrival of new head coach JJ Redick, who replaced Darvin Ham in the off–season. His appointment is an ambitious one due to his lack of coaching experience, but if he lives up to the promise the Lakers see in him then Los Angeles could have a really good head coach for years to come, smoothing the inevitable transition to the post-LeBron James era.
History on the Horizon
With the Lakers using the 55th pick to draft Bronny James back in June, we are set to witness the first father-and-son NBA duo when he and LeBron take the court together at some point in the game tonight. It has been widely reported that this will happen early on in tonight’s game, and it will be a truly historic moment that we get to witness.
Rotations
It will be interesting to see how JJ Redick sees the roster, and who will be in his rotation for the first regular season game. The Lakers are dealing with a couple of injuries right now, with both Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood currently sidelined. How much will we see rookie Dalton Knecht? He had a brilliant end to the preseason, with his phenomenal performance against the Phoenix Suns, when he took over in the fourth quarter and overtime.
How much we see of Max Christie? He struggled to get game time when Darvin Ham was head coach, but with the Lakers re-signing him and Redick putting an emphasis on player development, he is set to have a larger role to play in the rotation.
Anthony Davis
The Lakers’ most valuable player is undoubtedly Anthony Davis – potentially dominant on the offensive end and the anchor defensively. How will he be used by JJ Redick? Redick said in the off season that he wanted AD to become more of an offensive hub for the Lakers. Many times over the last few years we have seen AD not be the focus of the offense nearly as much as he should be.
Can the JJ Redick era begin with a win? Can LeBron finally get an opening night win in a Laker uniform? Tip off is at 7PM PST as the Lakers host the Timberwolves to open the 2024-2025 season.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login