The Lakers were thrashed by one of the worst teams in the N.B.A. recently, and that was encouraging. Having beaten the Jazz a couple of nights before with Luka Doncic playing his first game the Lakers had enough confidence to let the Jazz feel redeemed rather than dregged. The Lakers didn't actually need a victory that night.
I have no idea why the Lakers signed the Ukrainian center Alex Len who was unable to stop the ferocious onslaught of the Jazz in the paint. The regular Lakers center didn't play- Jaxson Hayes after receiving an injury in the prior game, so the Lakers were on a different basis from the start. Christian Koloko is a good defender except he hasn't played much apparently still recovering conditioning from a year off for medical reasons. I don't can play the position well enough know if the other center for the Lakers- Trey Jemison III. If the Lakers want to collect centers that don't play I guess that's alright.
The Lakers of course made a dubious trade sending Dalton Knecht to the Hornets for a center that couldn't pass a physical, so Knecht returned to the Lakers. Grace sometimes occurs, and the Lakers were stopped by fate from shooting themselves in the foot once more. Sending out players for short term adds isn't a good bet when they have great potential. Knecht could be the post-James shooting forward who can hit threes from the corner. Knecht won't become Rick Barry yet he would be a good compliment positional alternative to Luka Doncic. patience is required to build a good team.
So the Lakers played their entire line up including Bronny James and no one scored twenty points. Mass confusion is a military maneuver that lets the players feel a bit better about marching skill. The Lakers may have employed mass confusion to shuffle things a bit before moving forward.
