It appears the defending champs have tackled another trek through unusual waters as good as they did the first time in the Orlando bubble.

The Los Angeles Lakers are standing tall at 11-4, tied with their roommates, the LA Clippers, for the best record in the NBA. They’ve steamrolled most of these wins, and pulled out some that were closer than head coach Frank Vogel would have enjoyed. I have but the mildest of concerns thus far, and here they are.

1. Taking the Night Off
   
   As we’ve seen with any and all sure-fire title contenders, some regular season nights, the team would rather be elsewhere. None was more evident than the loss to Golden State Monday night, in which the LeBron James and the Lakers slept-walked through the second half and ended up blowing a 19-point lead in the process. With James’s mileage, track record for taking possessions off to conserve energy, and the fact that any shot at a ring repeat relies heavily on his freshness, it’s easy to understand why he’ll have nights like Monday night. But when the Warriors came storming back, I felt it took him too long to flip the switch and we suffered a loss we shouldn’t have. That’s not to say the entire L goes to LeBron, as the bench unit wasn’t doing LA any favors either; but the team goes as he does, and if losses like that pile up, it’ll hinder the Lakers’ chances of securing the #1 seed in the Western Conference, a pivotal component on their ability to march to the Finals last season.
   
   So let’s secure the win first before we start letting up on the gas, fellas.
   
   P.S.-I’ve never cared less about a loss than that one. I simply remember when the Lakers didn’t have any title hopes, so beating the Warriors in the regular season was kind of our Finals. Tables have just turned back to how they were before Steph took them into the stratosphere. No overreaction, but I will I told you them Warriors would be back, didn’t I?
   
2. New Dudes Check-In
   
   The likes of Dennis Schröder, Marc Gasol, and Montrezl Harrell, among other newbies, have fit in well in their roles. Dennis is as steady a third option as the Lakers have had to compliment James and Anthony Davis, and the trade for him is looking like the steal of the offseason.
   
   Gasol hasn’t made a massive impact in the point column, but his defense, outlet passing, and veteran presence has taken a visible load off of James, and pseudo-replaced that of Rajon Rondo as a second big basketball brain on the roster. I’ve noticed some easy misses around the rim for the big man, but the three point shot is steady, and as he gets even more acclimated I expect his offensive numbers to rise a bit.
   
   I was wrong about the J.R. Smith game last playoffs, but I’m GUARANTEEING this upcoming playoffs I will write a 1000 word post on the eventual game we Laker fans proudly deem The Marc Gasol Game.
   
   Trezz has been everything I had hoped for and more. High energy, lethal scoring punch off the bench to add a different element at the center spot when Gasol sits. His defense has been slightly better thus far than I would’ve predicted, but again, we didn’t get Harrell to defend the rim at McGee or Howardian levels anyway. Absolutely love him.
   
   Wes Matthews had a near perfect game against San Antonio earlier in the year, but has largely struggled to get his shot going consistently in reduced minutes. The looks he’s gotten have been pretty clean game to game, one of the great benefits of playing with LBJ and AD. Lakers’ brass has repeatedly said they aren’t worried about Wes, that with a vet like him it’s only a matter of time. I’m in the same camp, but I am worried that Alfonso McKinnie could take some of his minutes at some point if the struggles continue.
   
   Speaking of McKinnie, barely an sample size, as we’ve only seen him in garbage time. But I’m confident he can step up if need be in the evident of an injury and give Vogel and the Lakers solid minutes off the bench.
   
3. Rotation, Rotation, Rotation
   
   The shrinking offensive numbers of Gasol and Matthews, among others, could be accredited to Vogel and his staff still working out the kinks in their rotation. It’s a blessing and a curse to have some many options, as finding what guys work well together, and which ones don’t, is an issue head coaches face virtually every season. Going back to the Dubs game Monday night, Vogel enlisted a very offensive minded, but still defensively switchable, lineup of LeBron at point, Wes and Markieff Morris spaced out on the perimeter, Kyle Kuzma being wherever they need him, and Harrell in the dunkers spot. Right off the inbound I said aloud, “Man I LOVE this lineup” for how long and tough it would be on the defensive end.
   
   It proceeded to get run off the floor by Warrior reserves, but I think against the right team, it would be really effective. This is just another example of Vogel trying to find his go to lineups over the course of the season.
   
   Another conundrum is finding minutes for Talen-Horton Tucker, who was a revelation early on before getting banged up. Most of his minutes came because Caruso was injured through the first 7 or so contests, and has since come back shooting as good as he’s ever shot from distance and doing typical Caruso stuff to maximize the bench unit’s plus-minus. Maybe it’s just a hot streak that’ll pass, but I’m never giving THT any Caruso minutes in crunch time, especially in the playoffs. AC is just too steady on both ends, and makes too many winning plays night in and night out to ever lose the faith coach Vogel and the two Laker superstars have gained in him.
   
   That being said, THT is freakin’ good. He’s strong, lengthy, and can shoot it from deep at an average to above average rate on some nights, and he does need to get his time out there on the floor. It’ll be interesting if he can steal some Wes Matthews minutes if his shot continues to clank, but the spacing he gives the second unit’s offense might be too invaluable.
   
   Once again, not a bad problem to have having too many options, and there’s still a ridiculous amount of time to work them out. But it’s always nicer to see them resolved sooner than later.

So the Lakers are just fine. Like I said, all the problems listed are mildly concerning, at best, at this moment in time. As we go along, stuff that still hasn’t worked themselves out will need a second look.

But in short, finish games, don’t get bored, work out rotations, find THT his niche, and roll into the playoffs as healthy as can be.

In Milwaukee tonight to kick off a road trip that’ll be the first true test of the young season.

Cheers.