The Lakers can only blame themselves for being defeated. The two substitutes went undercover, and their defensive ability was also overrated?

Before the official start of the new season, for the Los Angeles Lakers, there are still areas that can be adjusted and investigated in the final preseason game against the Kings. In the end, the Lakers lost to the Kings by one point, and many problems were obvious. You must know that the Kings are not a strong team, and they even played as a substitute in this game.

So the Lakers can only blame themselves for being defeated. Doncic worked very hard in the preseason. He efficiently scored 31 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists with a 50% shooting rate. Although there were a lot of mistakes and fouls, there were no other shortcomings. And under the leadership of Doncic, the Lakers' three starters, Ayton, Vincent and Rui Hachimura, also scored in double digits. Reeves did not feel good but still sent 8 assists.

However, the problem with the Lakers' second lineup seems to be very big, especially when the two substitutes come off the bench. The first is Kleber. As Doncic's dowry, he was not expected to be much. After all, after joining the Lakers last season, Kleber has been recuperating from injuries. He only made a symbolic comeback when the Lakers were eliminated in the playoffs. But in a preseason game, no one expected Kleber to perform like this. In the 10 minutes he played, he had no desire to shoot at all. He only scored 2 points on free throws, and Kleber made 2 turnovers and 4 fouls. This performance is unlikely to make much difference in other high-level overseas leagues, let alone in the NBA.

Former first-round pick guard Nick Smith Jr., who played for the Hornets, was picked up by the Lakers. But it is not difficult to see from this game. No wonder Nick Smith Jr. was waived by a loser like the Hornets, and there was no rush for him. In this game, not only did he score poorly, but his performance in other aspects was also lackluster. Looking at it this way, Nick Smith may be waived at some point.

In addition, after the Lakers' operations this summer, they thought that at least the second lineup would be an iron wall, but in actual combat, it seems that the Lakers' defensive capabilities have also been seriously overestimated by the outside world. Not to mention the post-game statistics, we can see that the Lakers lost 117 points. The key point is that the Kings did not play with all their main players, including Sabonis Jr., DeRozan and Keegan Murray all announced their rotation. As a result, the Kings still had seven players and the score reached double digits. On the defensive end, the Lakers have not been able to limit their opponents. It seems that they only rely on paper lineups and theories, which may not work on the field.