"There's nothing I'm going to learn in preseason" - LeBron James on why he prefers LA Lakers team practices over preseason games
LeBron James and the LA Lakers endured a 114-121 loss to the Golden State Warriors in their NBA preseason clash on Friday. It was the Lakers' third straight loss, but it isn't something that worries James much.
In the press conference after the match, the 36-year-old stated that he prefers practice sessions to preseason games.
"I always say it for me, there's nothing I'm going to learn in preseason games at this point in my career. Nothing at all, I'm not going to learn anything. Nothing, I mean zero! But working our habits, and building camaraderie and chemistry on the floor that's always good. But I said I love the practices more than the preseason games because you can make the mistakes and figure out right there, you're able to stop it and talk about it and things of that nature. And go back and rewatch things, you can do that obviously the next day after a preseason game. But you can do it right on the fly in the practices." explained LeBron James.
"For me, I care more about the practice courts than I care about preseason games." LeBron James talks about the priorities for the Lakers for the remainder of the preseason with @LakersReporter. https://t.co/83EGn0fdUB
The LA Lakers' newest superstar signing, Russell Westbrook, also made his debut for the Purple and Gold on Friday.
However, the LA Lakers struggled from the get-go and had 27 turnovers by the end of the game. James and Westbrook were able to produce just 11 points together, shooting a combined 5 of 19 from the floor.
First look at LeBron and Russ in the preseason? A combined 11 pts on 5-for-19 shooting, 10 reb, 6 ast, 8 turnovers. LAL begins the preseason 0-3 with a 121-114 loss to Golden State.
Will LeBron James-led LA Lakers be able to build chemistry before the regular season?
The LA Lakers have dropped three straight games in the preseason so far. They have experimented with different lineups in all of those matches.
The Lakers had 10 new players joining them this offseason, so it was always going to take a while for them to find their rhythm.
So far, there has been no indication from Frank Vogel or his camp about their starting lineup heading into the regular season.
On top of that, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis are yet to play a game together. Davis played the first two games without James and Westbrook. He was then rested against the Golden State Warriors.
Nevertheless, the LA Lakers have three more preseason games left, so they do have a lot of time on their hands to figure out their plans moving forward. Their practice sessions have reportedly been intense as well.
Keeping this in mind, it won't be surprising to see the LA Lakers solve their chemistry issues before they kick-start their regular season on October 19th.