The 2022-23 Los Angeles Lakers and Darvin Ham made their unofficial debut on Monday — a 105-75 preseason loss against the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena. Fair or unfair, the evening ended with the Lakers getting booed off the floor. Here we go!

The matchup was the first of six warm-up contests for the Lakers before the 82-game marathon. If you'll recall, Los Angeles went 0-6 in last year's exhibition slate — a result that turned out to resemble some Arrested Development-style foreshadowing. But let's not overreact, yet.

The starters — including Russell Westbrook — played with a noticeable verve and sense of urgency on both ends in their limited action. Russ, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis clocked out at halftime with their team up by five. The remaining Lakers shot 6-of-22 in the third quarter and were outscored 29-16 in the fourth. Oh, well.

“We looked good on both ends of the ball in the first half,” Davis assessed.

Ham accentuated the positive, too. He shouted out the First-Half Lakers for surrendering 41 points, their rim protection, and on-ball defense. He lauded the chemistry between his three future Hall of Famers.

“They allowed themselves to help one another,” Ham said about Russ, LeBron, and AD.

Ham said the Lakers have installed a “three-series” half-court play-call set that allows any one of them to create in any given set.

“I loved what I saw. It was good,” Ham said. “That first half was really, really, really, really, really good…We'll keep getting better, for sure.”

The first-year head coach said he thought the Lakers were “phenomenal” defensively, though he admitted they struggled on the defensive glass.

He also dropped a signature bar afterward; he told his team that while it's easy to get caught up in Ws and Ls — even in the preseason — some outings can be defined by Wisdom and Lessons, instead. He stressed that he was “encouraged” by the first half performance, while the second half provided a canvas of “teachable moments.”

Here are a few other notable developments from the opening tune-up of the 75th Lakers season.

1) Russ was being Russ

Westbrook (fresh off scrubbing his Instagram of Lakers-related content) came out hot. He pushed the pace — a point of emphasis for Ham — and created multiple buckets with his aggression. For a few moments in the first quarter, he resembled the destructive, point-generating force NBA (though not Lakers) fans have grown accustomed to — dialing up the dishing and rim-attacking.

“That is how the offense and running system is constructed — so that he can have those lanes,” Ham said about Russ scoring on two downhill drives. “I told him, ‘Once you can see the gap, no stationary dribbling'.”

 

(As for the ongoing trade rumors, Ham emphasized that “Russ is a Los Angeles Laker” and they solely discuss Lakers basketball. “He's gonna thrive in this system,” the coach punctuated.)

By all accounts, Russ has been stellar in training camp and has convincingly reassured Ham and Lakers' management of his commitment to defense, improving his shooting, setting screens, and playing whatever role is asked. Whether he sustains that effort is TBD, but he's brought the juice thus far.

He ended up with five points (2-of-3 FG) and three assists in 15 minutes.

2) AD from 3

If Davis is going to start at power forward in Ham's “four-out, one-in” offense — alongside Damian Jones or Thomas Bryant — he's going to have to make threes. This rings especially true considering AD's personal proclivity for utilizing his perimeter prowess (on both ends), and Ham's open support of him seeking shots from all three levels.

AD has shot 22% from three-point range since catching fire in the bubble. He raised (my) eyebrows last week when he admitted that a bum wrist affected his outside shot last season (why admit this now? And then why take all those shots?)

Anyway, Davis nailed two of his four three-point attempts on Monday. He was a beast on the glass, finishing with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and a couple of dimes in 16 minutes. A minuscule sample size, of course, but each positive rep is productive and confidence-building.

“AD was sharp,” LeBron appraised. “Cleaned glass. Made a couple threes. Got a couple putbacks. Good to see him out there.”

 

“The three ball is going to enhance his game that much more,” Ham said. “He'll be effective rolling to the rim, he'll be effective popping. I was encouraged. He looked comfortable out there.”

3) LeBron is toast

LeBron shot 0-of-7 from the field and looked visibly frustrated after a few shots rimmed out. He made 4-of-5 from the line and finished with four points, one rebound, and two assists in 16 minutes.

The 20-year (!) vet brushed off the misses, saying his focus is “working our habits.”

“For me, it's all about getting in a rhythm and getting my conditioning in. That's the last thing on my mind, as far makes and misses.”

Clearly, the Lakers should salary dump him for an expiring contract, ASAP.

4) Wenyen making a rotation case

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Wenyen Gabriel is seemingly an odd-man out of the Lakers' rotation, at least initially. Including Davis — who will man the five in crunch time — Gabriel is the Lakers' fourth-string center.

On the other hand, he's a dynamic two-way athlete who can (sometimes) sink threes, protect the rim, switch onto smaller players, and wreak havoc on the glass and with hustle. The 25-year-old showed that vs. Sacramento, posting six points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks in 20 hyperactive minutes.

Ham spent nearly a decade under Mike Budenzholzer's tutelage. Coach Bud likes to utilize 10- or 11-man rotations during the regular season while carefully managing his stars' minutes. Ham has repeatedly stated his intentions to limit AD and LeBron's load early in the campaign. Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant offer plenty of value, but they aren't exactly All-Stars. Gabriel is a sleeper candidate to make an imprint.

5) Nunn Back

Kendrick Nunn has been the talk of Lakers camp so far.

Against the Kings, Ham used the starting lineup he rocked with for most of last week: Russ, Nunn, LeBron, AD, and Jones.

Beyond the overall positive energy of the group, the sheer presence of Nunn was the most noteworthy development in the first half. He was predictably rusty in 16 minutes — seven points, four turnovers, 3-of-6 shooting, 1-of-3 from deep — but the potential of his three-level shot-creation and play-making was evident. He has a chance to be a significant sparkplug and a high-variance X-factor for the Lakers.

Other notes: Troy Brown Jr. (back) and Lonnie Walker IV (ankle) did not play (Walker IV has been cleared to practice.)  Dennis Schroder is still not with the team due to visa issues. Two-way rookie Cole Swider — the best shooter on the Lakers — hit 2-of-4 from deep in the second half on his way to 10 points. Rookie Max Christie shot 2-of-8 but made a few solid plays. Exhibit-10 invites Jay Huff, Matt Ryan, Dwayne Bacon, and Javante McCoy did not play.

Next up: The Lakers will head to Las Vegas for an exhibition back-to-back at the T-Mobile Arena. They'll face the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.