Cameron Carr Might’ve Been The Most Interesting Laker On The Floor

Luka came out looking like he was already tired of preseason. 21 points in 16 minutes, got downhill, looked noticeably quicker, and physically he just looks better than he did before. That’s really all I needed to see from him. Quentin Grimes gave them 16 too, but Cameron Carr was probably the dude I actually wanted to keep watching — 19 points on 7-for-13, three threes, two assists and two steals in 23 minutes, after admitting he was nervous before the game. You wouldn’t really know it watching him. He looked comfortable moving without the ball, shot it confidently and got out in transition. Sacramento had Darius Acuff Jr. give them 19 on the other side, so there were actually a couple young dudes in this game worth remembering. The Lakers also had 29 assists and 24 fast-break points, which stood out more to me than winning by 24 because, again, preseason score don’t mean shit.

What I’m watching when the real games start is whether that pace and ball movement stays once the full rotation is out there. Because if Luka is coming into the season in this kind of shape and the Lakers are actually willing to get out and run around him, that opens up more than just Luka points. It can mean Luka assists, catch-and-shoot threes for Grimes, easier transition points and potentially higher team totals depending on the matchup. But that thought has to finish there — Austin Reaves and the rest of the regular rotation being back changes touches, pace and shot distribution, so I’m not taking preseason Carr usage and expecting the same thing in December. Carr made me remember his name. Luka’s conditioning made me interested in what his FanDuel assist and combo lines look like once the games actually count. Two completely different takeaways.