If there was one theme that came out of the Lakers eighth consecutive loss to close the preseason Thursday night against the Sacramento Kings (94-82), Dwight Howard made it clear in the locker room post-game. He made it clear 14 times. The success of this current Lakers team is a process.
“This is a process we’re not going to get this overnight, we’re playing for June.”
Now although ‘process’ was the only word verbally repeated 14 times, the Los Angeles center had another theme to close the preseason. Howard, who has really only played a game and a half in the preseason, reiterated that the goal is still to win a championship.
“If we remember that at the end of the day it’s a process, and at the end of the process it’s a championship, and this is a journey.”
But, that road to a championship is still a long ways away, and Lakers fans should not be expecting to see a newly revamped Lakers team come opening night on Tuesday. As a matter of fact, a well oiled machine isn’t expected until later in the season.
“Tell Laker fans not to get frustrated….I really didn’t expect to start playing this early….We don’t expect to win every game… but we do expect that by midseason everybody will have the offense down…but it’s a process.”
The Lakers, who have now finished the preseason without a W, are also 0-10 in the preseason under head coach Mike Brown. The good news is that in this process, there’s really nowhere to go but up. Plus, no team in the history of the NBA has ever gone winless in the preseason and gone on to reach the NBA Finals, and the Los Angeles Lakers are always up for a challenge.
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