The Los Angeles Lakers may be a long shot in the eyes of the basketball gods but there is no denying that they are far different when compared to the past two seasons. The fact that they are 4-4 at this early stage of the 2016-17 NBA season justifies at least one thing – Luke Walton is the right coach to send the Lakers in the right direction.
Looking at the Los Angeles Lakers roster, most would expect the team to struggle if not be one of the winless teams in the Western Conference. With no franchise player following the retirement of Kobe Bryant, who could step up to the new era of Laker basketball?
The safest answer right now is everyone. It is not simply D’Angelo Russell or Julius Randle. Everyone is getting into the act. Nick Young, someone who was believed to be on the way out has been showing the old form that netted him a lucrative contract while Lou Williams has been coming off the bench to help out.
For Walton, it is proof that his run as interim coach with the Golden State Warriors was no fluke. Though all that was credited to Steve Kerr, he has so far proven to be a wise bench tactician in just his first year with the Lakers. His ability to whip up an uncanny cast only shows that Walton is a motivator and born to coach, Silver Screen and Roll reported.
The scary part is that Walton is far from content. He continues to analyze the other departments where the Lakers are falling short, particularly defense, turnovers and free throws, USA Today reported.
“There’s no doubt (Walton is) in command. He’s in charge. I wouldn’t say he’s easygoing. He knows what he wants, and he’ll enforce whatever it takes to get what he wants to get on the court,” said Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak on his former player and first-year head coach.