Los Angeles Lakers forward Juan Toscano-Anderson has become a valuable role player for L.A. Even though he’s fallen out of the rotation after a solid start to the year, Darvin Ham called him a “good soldier.”
Toscano-Anderson hovered around 15-20 minutes the first month of the season, often the eighth or ninth man off the bench. Since then, he’s only had one game since Nov. 11 with double-digit minutes — the Lakers’ blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors two weeks ago. However, Toscano-Anderson sprained his ankle in the game and is set to be reevaluated this week.
His first season in L.A. hasn’t gone to plan, but Toscano-Anderson shed light on the Lakers’ struggles this season and made sure to note his confidence in the team in a potential playoff scenario when he appeared on “Outta Pocket,” a BUCKETS original from Wave Sports + Entertainment:
“I’m not going to sit up here and say we are going to [make the playoffs and win more than one series]. But, it’s kind of like back to my analogy with the lemonade thing. You’re looking for the perfect concoction. I mean basketball is not just X’s and O’s. You’re looking for everything that works well together. The spacing, the timing, everybody plays differently. And I think going back to everybody’s new here, for the most part. New coaching staff, 80% of the roster is new here, we all trying to figure it out, we’re all trying to figure the offense out. And i think some games we’ve been able to click and some games, it’s kind of like ah what’s that missing piece? Where are we overcompensating? Where are we not putting enough in? And I think that’s the growing pains of the season, that’s what the regular season is for, is that. The regular season is obviously to compete but it’s to figure it out. So when you get to that point when you are one of those teams in the playoffs, now we’re rolling with what we got and this what’s been working for us and we’re going to ride with it. And either it’s going to work or it’s not. And I feel like when we are at our best, I think we can win some series for sure. I don’t see many teams being better than us. If they are better than us, that much better than us.”
Toscano-Anderson is aware of what a championship team looks like because of his time at Golden State. He makes some intriguing points about the Lakers, specifically about the fresh roster and coaching staff.
While with the Warriors, he dealt with a system that’s been polished and refined for many years with a key cast of characters already headlining. In L.A., it’s been not only a new system but a roster full of players unaware of each other’s tendencies. Add in the injuries and it’s another mountain to overcome.
However, it’s a long season and Toscano-Anderson is optimistic about the Lakers’ potential.
Lakers interested in Magic wing Terrence Ross
It’s one of the best traditions in sports — the Lakers expressing their interest in Orlando Magic forward Terrence Ross. First linked in 2018, almost every year since a new report surfaces about L.A.’s willingness to acquire Ross.
It’s no different this year as the Lakers are once again interested in striking a deal for Ross. The Lakers would likely have to give up some draft picks in a trade. Ross is on an expiring deal, which makes trading Patrick Beverley to make the deal work a possible scenario.
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