Following the team's opening-night loss against the Portland Trail Blazers, critics are already having a field day pointing out all the alleged weak points of the new-look Los Angeles Lakers. ESPN's Jalen Rose has taken an early shot at the side, questioning young guard Lonzo Ball and his value for the team:

According to Rose, Ball's particular type of game does not suit the kind of basketball the Lakers want to play. The former NBA journeyman also pointed out that there is currently an oversupply of playmakers on the team, and that Ball may end up being the odd man out.

Unfortunately for Lakers fans, Rose does have a very valid point here.

Last season, Ball was the team's point guard of the future and the side's primary playmaker. A frenzied summer that saw the arrival of LeBron James and Rajon Rondo — two of the top playmakers in the game today — did put a question mark on Ball's role. So much so, that head coach Luke Walton decided to have Ball come off the bench behind Rondo.

Rose believes Walton may have issues finding quality minutes for Ball. On Thursday, the 20-year-old played only 19 minutes off the bench, and he could not get a proper rhythm going. This is a far cry from his average of 34.2 minutes per game last season.

Then again, this is an extremely small sample size. The Lakers are still in search of their identity, and at this point in the season, it would be haphazard to make assumptions of this magnitude.