Laker fans did not see this coming...

Laker fans did not see this coming as the Lakers played their second preseason game and the result was not what they were looking for. However, one player in particular has been showcasing his talent, displaying a level of skill the Lakers have not had on this team in quite some time. And JJ Redick has a big decision to make about the end of the Laker roster. What's good? I'm Okechia Pakoma, and this is Lakers Digest coming at you with another video. I'm pointing to everything we have here for today's video. I just remind you guys, subscribe to the channel if you guys haven't already to get those Laker updates, guys, because we are in the middle of preseason and on the 21st, it starts Lakers regular season basketball, y'all. So if you guys don't know anything going on with the Lakers, make sure you guys subscribe to the channel here at Lakers Digest, y'all. Now, without further ado, let's hop straight into some of our stories that we're talking about today. And yes, we can go over about the Laker game about they had against the Golden State Warriors. However, I want to zero in on one player in particular, and that is Sandro Marmos Caldivigli at the 5, the good and the bad. So, the Lakers played that game against the Golden State Warriors and did not fare too well. They had a lot of injuries, a lot of guys who didn't really play in that one. So when Luka Austin, Kessler, Colin Sexton, Thibal, and Zion Williams, and also Arthur Klumer were all sitting out in this game, then it's really hard to evaluate the Lakers as a whole because that's a lot of the main guys are gonna be in that rotation of all missing in action against the Golden State Warriors. Well, the Warriors essentially had their full starting allotment with the exception of Jimmy Butler who is still recovering from injury there. But the Los Angeles Lakers had a nice game from Sandro Marmos Caldivigli. And I want to get deeper into about how he plays with the Los Angeles Lakers and how he can really change things up for this team. Before we get into that, guys, I want to bring up our sponsor, y'all, and that is going to be CAUSHY. And what is CAUSHY? Some of you guys may be asking. On CAUSHY, you can trade directly against other users and not the house like a traditional sports book. And you're buying yes or no contracts on the outcomes of events across sports, politics, and the weather. So if you guys are interested in trying out CAUSHY, use the link in the description and the pinned comment and use that code there, DigestNBA, as new users will get $55 added instantly when you trade for your first $25, y'all. Just a very solid deal. And I'm gonna give you guys some things that I'm looking at on CAUSHY later on into the show. But back to some of our main things that we're talking about here for the Lakers, and that is Sandro at the 5. And there's gonna be a lot of different times where Sandro's probably gonna be playing the 4 or the 5 this season. But we got an exclusive look at him at the 5, especially in these first couple of games here, and showcasing what he can really do at a very high talent level for a guy like him. And he's really an unknown guy for most of the guys that the Lakers brought in, and if you aren't too familiar with Sandro's game, you are going to love what you see from this man. So just taking a look at Sandro's game against the Warriors, and at just 18 minutes they hit 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and it's 3 of 4 from 3. And he probably would have had more assist really in that game there, but it was just up to some of the Laker players just knocking down some shots there. And just really, really nice things that we saw from Sandro, Mambushkala's VD there, and just to add on to what Sandro did there that I wanted to talk to you about here is that, yeah, not only that he shot pretty well there, 6 for 10 from the field, 3 for 4 from 3, got some rebounds, got assists, got a pretty nice block shot there, too. And he's gonna have the versatility to give the Lakers a little bit of everything, and he's probably not gonna be seeing the starting unit too much there. And yes, I know a lot of us are definitely gonna miss a guy like Rui Hachimura. We recently saw some highlights there. He scored 21 points in his debut game in the preseason for the Clippers there. He does offer a very different skill set, and that can really elevate the Laker team because of his passing ability, high basketball IQ, and just really just know-how when it comes to the sport of basketball there. And Sandro did a very nice job, even for the Raptors last season, just taking a look at some of the things that he did last season for the Toronto Raptors there, and he averaged 11.2 points per game, averaged 4.9 points per game, and along with 1.9 assists per game in just 21 minutes, or about 22 minutes per game there. And his true shooting and efficiency were very high along with his three-point percentage there, and albeit he's not a guy that's not really going to do too much on the defensive end, there were some points there where he, you know, he can make a play, whether it's, you know, getting the block shot like he did in this game, or getting the steal like he did in the other game against Sacramento Kings there, and Sandro just has a lot of different tools and tricks that he can really help, like I said, elevate this Laker team, especially there on the offensive end, because I wanted really to get into deeper how him at the 5 can really make the Lakers look like a more just thorough and just tougher team truly to guard, especially because of his ability to stretch the floor, shoot the ball. There are times in this game where, you know, Draymond was guarding Sandro there, but Draymond was sometimes just a little bit too far from Sandro, and then Sandro can really pull from anywhere. He shoots really well from the corners. The only place he doesn't really shoot too well for him is the top of the key, but he's still a threat from there, and that really makes him a very big threat from not only beyond the arc, but then just makes him a threat to drive as well, because he has a pretty good shot pick that looks very similar to his regular shot, and then he can really get to the rim, finish with either hand, or make a play with his passing ability. Just he's a very, very good passer, and it's really nice to see the Lakers get another solid passer within this rotation. Yes, you have Luka. Yes, you have Austin, but you're gonna need a couple other guys within your rotation to really make smart reads, good passes, and really extend the advantage that is created by Luka or Austin Reeves. So, a guy like Sandro can really accentuate that because of his ability, like I said, to playmake there out of that five spot there, or be a guy that can stretch the floor, or be a guy that can take somebody off the dribble and get all the way to the basket. So, just very, very good things to see from a guy like Sandro Mambos-Cosvidi, and we can only hope to see what it looks like when everybody is involved, and everybody is healthy and ready to go for the beginning parts of the season. Hopefully, we get that clean bill of health for the Los Angeles Lakers. Yes, there was a couple of injuries in this game against the Warriors there, but the Lakers just were just trying to muddle things together and just trying to showcase what they've been really trying to hone in on their first weeks of training camp, and unfortunately, J.J. Redick did not like what the Lakers had shown, especially in this game, compared to their first game. And this is what he said after the game there, saying that he called the performance in the first half unacceptable, and he emphasized that he expects the team to play to a certain standard regardless who is in or out of the lineup. And he's really trying to hone that in there, especially when you don't have Luka or Austin in the lineup. The Lakers have to be playing still a certain degree of basketball, a certain level, a certain intensity, and they didn't really have that there in the first quarter. The Warriors really ran through what the Lakers had. Yaxell Landberg did a very good job of just getting to the basket, really scoring well. And obviously, Steph Curry can create advantages. We know what he can do. We had a couple four-point plays there in that game, so just a little discipline on the defensive end for the Lakers needed some tightening up there. But the Lakers, there were some things to really look at here in this game, mostly just from what Sounders' perspective, and what my next topic is gonna get to here because there is a big decision to be had for the Los Angeles Lakers because on the 12th, we're gonna have to figure out what happens with the 15th roster spot on this Lakers squad. And like I said, this gets me to my next topic here, talking about for the battle for the 15th roster spot. And this is what JJ Redick is using this time really to evaluate who is going to be one of the last guys on this Lakers roster spot. And it's between a couple of guys, really between, I think, Bronny, Jaden Hardy, and then Dalton Connect. All these guys are kind of teetering at the end of the Laker roster there, and it's gonna be one of those guys who make the team. And it's really looking like Dalton Connect is now the outside guy looking in and is really having an uphill battle to try to make the team and stay on this team if he wants to be here for just to get to the start of the season really there. Because like I said, on the 12th, it is when the Lakers will have to cut down their roster to 15 roster spots, 15 guaranteed contracts there. And there is a possibility that Dalton Connect could not be a part of it because even we saw JJ Redick lean on some of the other guys. So he started Bronny James in this game, and then he also had Jaden Hardy as one of the first guards coming off the bench there. So there is some trust factor with some of those guys, but Dalton Connect took a little bit of time to get into the game there. And still, he still isn't the way that he was, especially when he burst out into the scene in his rookie season. And it's very, very hard, I see, for him to get back to that point. A little bit because of that trade, but also because of some of the lost confidence just over the time that he's been here for the Los Angeles Lakers. And then also just what it seems like his basketball IQ not really being up to a guy like JJ Redick's standards there and JJ Redick not really trusting him in certain situations to really be out there as a defender or do other things on the basketball court besides score the basketball, which he's shown he can do. But especially when the shooting disappears, there's a really, really hard time to really figure out where Dalton Connect kind of gets his minutes there. And it's just very unfortunate that it's probably going to come down to getting him cut in this situation. But hopefully, the Lakers can try to find a trade in some way, shape, or form to really bring another guy, hopefully a backup center. Because we see some nice things with Kevon Looney. He does some nice things. He's a good rebounder, good screen setter. But just on a night-in-a-night-in basis, I don't trust a guy like Kevon Looney to really give all that effort just because of the injuries that he's had that's really derailed parts of his career there. But he is a good solid vet, knows what to do, knows where to be. But you just want probably a little bit more activity at that spot, at that backup spot. Especially if a guy like Sandro is going to be playing the four position. But him at the five, I do think there's a lot of things the Lakers can do offensively. My big worry there, though, is defensively and what they're going to do on that side of the ball. Yes, you can try to flank him with some wing defenders like guys like maybe Thurow and maybe a guy like Matisse Thibault. But there's still a level of where teams were just willing to attack Mamu there, especially down low. Yes, he can get there and be in the right spots, but he doesn't have a super big wingspan and there's also, he doesn't really block a ton of shots, even though he got a blocked shot in this game against the Warriors. But there is something that I wanted to point out here. So this was just all the injuries the Lakers had in this game. So just unfortunately, the Lakers didn't have these guys and yes, the result is what it is. But it is preseason. So there's a lot of learning, a lot of growing for the Lakers to do here. And hopefully the Lakers can get all these guys back and we can see what this team looks like together. Especially I want to see big Walker Kessler out there. But I promise you guys some picks later on into the show. And this is a couple of things that I have been looking at here on Cauchy, y'all. And right now I'm looking at who are the favorites for the MVP. Right now Luka Doncic is second on Cauchy at 16% there. And it's just very simple. All you got to do is hit yes or no on Cauchy, guys. Just very, very simple. And then another thing on Cauchy that I have been looking at is the coach of the year. Right now JJ Redick is second. Yes, second on the coach of the year. And I do think he has a very solid shot of winning this award, even though the Lakers don't truly win awards. But, you know, with the team that he's got here and a lot of teams really undervaluing the Lakers, I think this is a very solid choice there. So JJ Redick, all you got to do is hit yes or no. And then on Cauchy. And then I'm gonna put that code up one more time for you guys. So you guys do not forget it. It's going to be that code there. DigestNBA. As usual, you get $55 added to the count when trading for the first $25. Just a very solid deal. And just remember, you guys, on Cauchy, to play responsibly. Well, that's gonna be it for this video, guys. Let us know in the comments down below what you guys think of Sandro at the 5. Do you think that is going to be a workable thing for Los Angeles Lakers? Do you think the Lakers should try to lean on that because of the offensive capabilities, or are you concerned about the defense and the Lakers are going to be able to defend with Sandro at the 5, and do you think the Lakers should try to find a way to possibly even trade Dalton Connect to try to bring in a more, I would say, lob threat, vertical threat type center to really shore up their big man rotation. Let us know in the comments down below there. I've been your host, Okechi Pakama, and I'll catch you guys on the next one.