r/lakers • u/Ejazz88 • 1d ago

ARTICLE Lakers Training Camp Notebook: ‘You have to work so hard’

Saturday’s Lakers practice highlighted how Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves’ offense helps the team’s defense. JJ Redick also spoke about the NBA’s new points of emphasis and how the two-way guys are doing. All this and more in my article below.
https://ecreates88.substack.com/p/lakers-training-camp-jj-redick-matisse-thybulle?r=9tvtr&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

44 Upvotes

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14

u/LudwigNasche 1d ago

I'm higher on Mañon and Kaluma than I am on some of the late bench guys with roster spots.

League average PER is 15 and we have guys that were unable to reach it even in GLeague taking roster spots

https://www.basketball-reference.com/gleague/teams/SBL/2026.html

Chris Mañon doubles the rebs, steals and blocks on a 36 basis that players with a roster spot register in GLeague and he did the same in the few NBA minutes he got

You look at the win shares/48 in GLeague and you ask yourself, how that guy has a roster spot and how there are folks that defend the idea that it is deserved when that guy isn't even a very good GLeague player?

The stats don't lie.

4

u/Ejazz88 1d ago

I really like this two-way trio. If the end of the bench and two-ways hit that changes things for the Lakers.

0

u/LudwigNasche 1d ago

I didn't pay much attention to Okerere in GLeague, but the other 2 guys impressed me.

2

u/Tiny_Spread5712 1d ago

It feels like bronny has a higher ceiling and present than Manon. I like manon, he just feels like a guy that's out of the rotation in any serious team

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u/LudwigNasche 1d ago

I like him better than Bronny. Taller, more physical. Small guards rarely impact NBA games, to do it they have to be extremely talented or physical. Bronny isn't either thing while Mañon isn't afraid to put his body on anyone, the reason he averages twice as many boards, stl and blk as Bronny both in GLeague and NBA (small sample size though).

I look at Mañon as a Josh Hart type of player, you can always use someone like him. Bronny is a much better passer and shooter though, but it has little real impact on games because his ball handling skills are very limited so the volume of shooting is really low not to mention he recorded the same AST% and TO% last season making his better passing irrelevant.

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u/Tiny_Spread5712 1d ago

Manon isn't as athletic as Hart is the problem, the mentality is all there for defense, and he's got good instincts, there is just an upper limit on what he can do in this league and it's way  below a guy like caruso who, when everyone on okc is healthy, is like 11th in minutes and matchup dependent on coming off the bench 7th or 10th.

Smaller, strong, athletic guys have defensive usefulness and bronny is gaining strength and athleticism, he also has the pass dribble shoot stuff going.

Manon can be pesky against weaker players and lazy passes but I don't see his utility offensively or defensively against top teams, even at his highest prospective ceiling.

1

u/marathonwater 23h ago

Idk man Bronny is special athletically and I think he will continue to be decent.

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u/LudwigNasche 22h ago

I also think he will continue to be decent.

What caught my attention is how stronger he is looking this season resembling a football player. If he embraces playing like an enforcer than I'll change my opinion about him and believe he can become more than "decent"

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u/retrospects 77 1d ago

This years slogan should be “iron sharpens iron”

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/retrospects 77 1d ago

The team came in day one ready to bust their ass.

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u/Ejazz88 1d ago

I like it!