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Welcome back to this week’s Lakers newsletter, where we are bundling up during the Southeast’s deep freeze.

Snow flurries dusted the ground outside Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, but the Lakers were heating up. They knocked off the Charlotte Hornets for their sixth win over the last seven games and, after a clunker in Atlanta, vibes are, once again, high.

Austin Reaves returned in the game against the Hornets to help the Lakers inch closer to full health, but after weeks of an ever-changing rotation, we’re going to start on a player known for his consistency.

Prime Rui Hachimura

No one had this comparison on their bingo card this year. Rui Hachimura and M.J. himself? In one key area, at least, it holds for JJ Redick.

“[I] feel like he’s not going to miss a midrange shot right now,” Redick said before the Atlanta game. “It’s like prime Michael Jordan, prime Kawhi Leonard.”

Redick may have jinxed Hachimura, who went three-for-nine against the Hawks when everyone struggled, but the Japanese forward is quietly putting together a career year. He’s averaging 16.3 points per game on 58.6% shooting. His field-goal percentage is the team’s highest for any non-center. With the biggest stars in and out of the lineup because of injuries, Hachimura is one of just three Lakers players to appear in each of the first 11 games.

“One thing we know about Rui is he’s gonna be consistent,” guard Marcus Smart said. “He’s gonna get to his spots. He’s gonna make plays for us, and he’s gonna come in clutch for us.”

Despite the successful start, Hachimura was caught off guard when told of his accomplishments. He had no idea that he had shot better than 50% from the field in every game before the Atlanta dud. The Lakers forward’s eyebrows shot up when he heard that Redick put him and his midrange shots in the same sentence as His Airness.

Because to Hachimura, what he’s doing is just second nature to him.

“Those kinds of shots,” Hachimura said, “that’s why I got here at this point.”

Shooting 52.4% from three, Hachimura has also developed into a certified laser from distance, Redick said. He was shooting 40.2% from three during his Lakers career prior to this season.

Hachimura, who is in the final year of his contract, credited assistant coach Beau Levesque for helping him improve his offensive game, focusing on quicker decision making and smarter shot selection.

While his offensive prowess has been on display all season, he also backed it up Monday with some of the best defense Redick has watched him play. The Lakers held Charlotte — which scored 40 points in the first quarter — to 15 points in the third thanks in large part to Hachimura’s activity. The defensive stats aren’t impressive: one defensive rebound, one steal, no blocks.

But his teammates know Hachimura’s value.

“Nobody talks about him, but he deserves a lot of credit in our wins,” guard Luka Doncic said. “He’s been amazing for us, and the way he plays like every game just helps us a lot, especially to win games.”

10-game statistical check-in

The Lakers led the league in shooting percentage through their first 10 games and, until Sunday’s clunker in Atlanta, were a top-five ranked offense. The source of their offensive power is an unexpected shot.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

Entering Sunday’s games, the Lakers led the league with 11.3 attempts from 10-to-14 feet per game. The midrange shot has become the modern NBA’s statistically inefficient black sheep, but it’s been the key to keeping the Lakers afloat during the early season injuries.

The Lakers shot 55.8% from 10-to-14 feet, the league leaders from that distance entering Sunday’s games. When expanded to shooting zones, the Lakers take the second-highest percentage of non-layup two-pointers in the league, trailing only the Sacramento Kings. They also converted them at a scorching 55.9% clip. On two-point shots outside of the restricted area, no other team even cracked 50%.

Of course, this is all small-sample-size theater. Redick doesn’t think this will be the Lakers’ longterm shot profile because the team won’t look like this for long. The Lakers have been without Doncic, Reaves and LeBron James for part of or (in the case of James) all of the season.

Once the Lakers are “whole,” Redick suspects that the team will return to something closer to last year’s final version that ranked ninth in three-point attempts in games after the Doncic trade. Whether the higher quality shots will actually fall would be the next important step: The corner three is the only area from which the Lakers are shooting worse than league average.

Best thing I ate this week

The Swahili Plate with grilled lamb bites from Serengeti Kitchen in Charlotte, N.C. is served with coconut rice and pinto beans, collards and cabbage and sweet fried plantains.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

I can find Tanzania on the map, but that’s the extent of my knowledge about the East African country. I was wholly unfamiliar with Tanzania’s game, and if my first taste from Serengeti Kitchen in Charlotte is any indication, they definitely got food game in that country.

The Swahili plate comes with coconut rice under coconut pinto beans with collard and cabbage and sweet fried plantains. I got the grilled lamb bites and proceeded to text all my friends about my favorite discovery Downtown Charlotte.

In case you missed it

Luka Doncic underlines his 38-point night with monster dunk in Lakers’ win

Lenny Wilkens, Hall of Famer who coached the most games in NBA history, dies at 88

Injuries finally catch up to Lakers as win streak ends in blowout loss to open trip

Bronny James shows his improvement for shorthanded Lakers

How the Lakers use Japanese slideshow presentations to build chemistry

Ex-NBA player accused of selling LeBron James injury secrets pleads not guilty

Lakers takeaways: Luka Doncic’s defense (yes, defense) helps hold off Spurs

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at [email protected], and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, where we’re likely standing at an airport as you read this.

The NBA schedule is in full swing. The chaos JJ Redick mentioned at the beginning of the season has arrived. The Lakers played a game with seven standard contract players. Austin Reaves went on a heater for the ages, scoring 51 points in a game, 41 in the next, then hitting the game-winner in the one after that. Nick Smith Jr. threw up in the hallway at Moda Center then dropped 25 on the Portland Trail Blazers.

But through it all, the Lakers are crediting their 6-2 start to something that can’t be measured in the box score.

‘Play Laker basketball’

There seems to be an advanced statistic for everything now. As a math person, I wholeheartedly embrace the nerdification of sports. But the thing Redick preaches most to his team is something that can’t be quantified.

Just “playing hard.”

It sounds simple, but, in fact, there is a way to do it wrong.

“That’s what we call ‘fake hustle,’” guard Marcus Smart said. “It’s all for the cameras. It’s all just to look good so you don’t get in trouble in the film room. But when you’re playing hard, you can feel it. You can feel the way you’re playing, you can feel the way the energy. Your body can feel it. Your mind can feel it. And you’d be surprised how the game turns out because of that.”

The Lakers’ early season commitment to simply playing hard has helped them weather injury storms and roster uncertainty. They’ve gone 3-1 in games without Luka Doncic. One of those victories was without Doncic and Austin Reaves, and all have been on the road. LeBron James hasn’t even played a minute this season.

“There’s certain things that we are doing right now that we did not do until mid-to-late January of last year,” Redick said before the Lakers’ game against Memphis.

Naturally, only hours after praising his team’s consistent competitiveness, Redick was frustrated with the effort in the second quarter against the Grizzlies. He called his players “zombies” as they let Memphis score 19 unanswered points in the second quarter.

So, no, things aren’t perfect yet.

But in a long season, with pieces that are still finding their way together, any early glimpse at some of those intangible, championship team qualities are meaningful. Redick lauded his team’s confidence, belief and connectivity in the win over Portland without Doncic or Reaves. Getting any or all of their stars back will change the complexion of what this team will ultimately achieve in April, May or — they hope — June, but the Lakers don’t want to it to affect what they do any given night.

“I think it all started in training camp, really just going as hard as we can, JJ not giving the crap who’s out there,” center Deandre Ayton said. “He wants to play Laker basketball.”

After the Lakers beat the Grizzlies, Smart gave the team a B+ in how hard it’s playing. But after Monday’s win in Portland in which Smith scored 25 points off the bench, Smart upgraded the rating to a B++.

So there’s still room to grow on this report card.

A new boss in town

New Lakers majority owner Mark Walter.

(Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

The Lakers officially have a new majority owner.

Mark Walter’s acquisition of the Lakers was unanimously approved by the NBA board of governors last Thursday. It was a monumental week for the billionaire. One day after the sale went final, Walter hoisted the Commissioner’s Trophy for the second time in as many years with the Dodgers, who won the World Series in epic Game 7 fashion. Then on Sunday, Walter was sitting courtside at Crypto.com Arena in a royal blue Dodgers jacket to watch the Lakers defeat the Heat. An arena employee shook Walter’s hand, presumably thanking him for bringing L.A. another championship and already dreaming about the next one that could come for the purple and gold.

Redick said he spoke briefly with Walter after the news and came away impressed with Walter’s enthusiasm to learn about a new league.

“Baseball is an individual sport masquerading as a team sport. It’s a different thing,” Redick said. “Daryl Morey said it best on a podcast a couple years ago. He said the NBA now is the equivalent of the Giants when Barry Bonds was in his prime, basically getting to bat every single time and not only that, getting to pick who pitches to him every single time. That’s what the NBA is. … The impact of star players, a guy like Luka, a guy like LeBron, a guy like AR, it’s just different than any other sport.”

Favorite thing I ate this week

Miso pork katsu sando from Tokyo Sando food cart in Portland.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

As my Uber driver dropped me off at my hotel in Portland, we drove by a collection of food trucks around the corner. He recommended that I make a stop for lunch. Little did he know, I had already scoped out the entire area, and I had my target locked.

The miso pork katsu sando from Tokyo Sando felt like culinary perfection after a chaotic back-to-back turnaround.

In case you missed it

No Big 3, no problem: Nick Smith Jr. helps lead Lakers to fourth consecutive win

Jake LaRavia won’t be unknown to Lakers fans much longer with games like this

Luka Doncic drops triple-double to power Lakers to victory over Heat

Luka Doncic returns and Lakers get a road win at Memphis

NBA approves Buss family sale of Lakers to Dodgers majority owner Mark Walter

Austin Reaves hits game-winner as Lakers hang on to defeat Timberwolves

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at [email protected], and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

Welcome back to this week’s Lakers newsletter, where things are going to get weird (in a good way). Lakers basketball is officially back Tuesday as the team begins its regular season with the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena.

Coach JJ Redick downplayed any suggestion that his emotions entering his second season at the helm were significantly different than last year, but he said something that resonated with me as I’m entering my first full season in the NBA world.

“The fun part about this,” Redick said, “is the chaos.”

Let’s embrace this chaos.

Make Luka joyful again

Redick has a word for what Luka Doncic does. When the star guard skips up the court after a one-footed jump shot. The way Doncic grins slyly at his bench after a particularly bold pass. How he makes even the most unimaginable feats seem possible when the ball is in his hands.

‘He’s a weirdo,” Redick said in the most affectionate way possible.

“He has an ability to do what I would call, like, silly stuff, but still be locked in. It’s important to him that basketball is fun. … He’s at play. And that’s part of what makes him great.”

When he was drafted third overall in 2018, Doncic was 19 years old. People called him “The Wonder Boy.” He played with the joy of a child who was discovering new things each time he stepped on the court.

Now he’s 26. He’s seen that the NBA isn’t always just audacious step-back threes and sky-high lobs. Sometimes business gets in the way. Doncic’s ability to bridge the gap between his inner child and the outward seasoned veteran will be what defines the Lakers’ success this year.

“By being in a clearer headspace, and by that I mean just mentally and emotionally in balance, it allows you the freedom to just be yourself,” Redick said of Doncic. “That gets reflected in his expressions, his interactions with teammates, his interactions with our coaching staff, his desire to toe that line between competition and joy and playfulness that truthfully makes him the special person and player that he is.”

Redick has had a unique view of Doncic’s style. They were teammates in Dallas during Redick’s final year. They were unexpectedly reunited by a late-night trade so monumental that it even dominated the conversation at the Super Bowl.

But the shell-shocked version of Doncic wasn’t exactly the joyful player Redick remembered. Doncic said the basketball court has always been his “peaceful place.” The trade shattered not only the collective NBA mind, but also Doncic’s own spirit.

“The joy wasn’t there,” Doncic said.

Doncic was also struggling with a calf injury that kept him sidelined for a week after the trade. He made his debut on Feb. 10. He has said that, in retrospect, that first game was the highlight of his first season as a Laker because of the way the crowd received him. But it took maybe 10 or 15 games for the joy to truly return, Doncic said.

“At the end of the day, we’re all human,” guard Austin Reaves said. “It’s not like we’re robots out here that don’t have feelings, don’t have emotions, anything like that. … That’s not saying that he wasn’t fun to be around. He was always, still joking, having fun, but you can tell that he’s at peace with it. And he’s excited to go to war with us every night.”

Doncic has been adamant about trying to become more of a vocal leader this season. Time has healed his trade wounds, and Doncic said he’s felt much more comfortable speaking up around his teammates. He treated them to a Porsche driving experience as a team-bonding activity and gifted everyone his newest signature shoe. He traded jerseys with Jarred Vanderbilt at a recent practice just for fun. He and Rui Hachimura trade barbs about each others musical preferences.

In front of reporters, Doncic is not a gregarious interview subject, but he still dutifully plodded in front of a hoard of cameras and reporters Monday after practice. Reaves walked by and said loud enough to make sure everyone could hear that Doncic was his “favorite teammate ever.”

Doncic, laughing, responded that Reaves was his least favorite.

“He’s a big kid,” Doncic said sarcastically. “Very childish.”

But in Doncic’s world, that’s a good thing.

Defense wins championships

Gabe Vincent chases a loose ball during last season’s playoffs.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Gabe Vincent got the starting nod in LeBron James’ place during the preseason finale and will likely hold onto that role as the season begins in earnest. He has surely earned it.

Vincent shot a sizzling 55.6% from three-point range in the preseason and averaged 16.3 points per game. It was a glimpse of the player he showed he could be in Miami when helped lift the Heat to the NBA Finals.

The 29-year-old guard is also a gritty defender and strong communicator. The Lakers need that to improve on their defense that allowed the Sacramento Kings — playing without stars Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan — to shoot 54.7% from the field.

Doncic said a major piece missing from the Lakers’ defensive performance was physicality. Redick said he saw what the defense could be in two- or three-play bursts in each of the games following a flat performance against the Golden State Warriors in the first game. Now the key is to turn those flashes into sustained stretches.

“Building our habits, building our communication, and being in great shape, it’s how you build a great defense,” Redick said, echoing his three mantras of the year. “I could have put ‘championship defense’ up there. What does that mean? Actually what does that mean? Doesn’t mean anything. It literally doesn’t mean anything. How do you have a championship defense? You gotta have great habits. You gotta be able to communicate. That builds trust. And you gotta be in elite shape so you can play harder than the other team every night. It’s pretty simple.”

Favorite thing I ate this week

Oxtail ragu with pappardelle pasta

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

It’s not a bad gig when you get to watch basketball for a living and in between games eat at different restaurants across the country. But after days, and sometimes weeks, on the road, a good home-cooked meal just hits different.

That’s why my culinary highlight came out of my own kitchen this week: Oxtail ragu with pappardelle pasta from Trader Joe’s. And because I like counting on home cooking after road trips, the leftovers will be waiting for me in the freezer for later this season. Nothing says comfort food like a big bowl of noodles.

In case you missed it

Luka Doncic expecting tough test vs. Stephen Curry and Warriors without LeBron

LeBron James is off the hook for $865.66 as fan calls off ‘Second Decision’ lawsuit

Reigning NBA champs Oklahoma City Thunder aim to end NBA parity era

With LeBron James out, Lakers lean on Luka Doncic to open season

Lakers story lines: Five things to watch as the season begins

From oops to aahs, Jaxson Hayes and Lakers work to catch more of Luka Doncic’s passes

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at [email protected], and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

Hi, everyone, welcome back to Lakers newsletter. This is Thuc Nhi Nguyen, The Times’ Lakers beat writer. Thank you for your warm welcome into this space (and your food recommendations). We’re now halfway through the preseason, and let me tell you: I can’t wait until we get real basketball back again.

We are at least one step closer to seeing what this Lakers team really looks like as Luka Doncic is expected to make his preseason debut against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. He is expected to play in two of the final three preseason games and, with a back-to-back coming, it’s most likely that Doncic will finish his preseason play on Friday at Crypto.com Arena against the Sacramento Kings instead of in Las Vegas against his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, on Wednesday.

Doncic’s return can help answer some questions about the Lakers, but there is still plenty to address with one week until the season opener.

The LeBron James decision

If you didn’t hear, LeBron James was at the center of a major announcement last week.

No, it’s not that the Lakers star and my dad share an affinity for Hennessy.

It’s that James will be sidelined for three to four weeks as he manages sciatica in his right side. The timeline announced by the team last Thursday means James will miss the regular season opener on Oct. 21 against the Golden State Warriors. As he enters Year 23, James still has room for more firsts: This will be the first time in his NBA career that he doesn’t play in a season opener.

While coach JJ Redick has tried to downplay preseason decisions about the starting lineup, he admitted Monday that James’ prolonged absence “complicates things a little bit.” With every group, Redick said, it’s about finding balance: ensuring there’s enough shooting, facilitating and defense to go around while also managing each player’s own temperament.

“We have a week to figure that out,” Redick said Monday, “and I think it will reveal itself to us.”

The Lakers’ next decision

Marcus Smart

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

So who will be up for the role?

Marcus Smart, who figured to be a potential starting candidate even when James was healthy, will make his preseason debut on Tuesday. He was battling Achilles tendinopathy to begin the preseason.

Smart returned to practice last week, working up to being a full participant during practices Thursday and Saturday, and impressed Redick with the classic Marcus Smart hustle and defense. Even while sidelined, Smart was lauded for his communication and leadership style.

Smart was already considered as a potential starting option over returner Rui Hachimura because the Lakers were looking for a stronger defender at the point of attack. They may have rediscovered another option in Jarred Vanderbilt.

Finally healthy from a lingering foot injury, Vanderbilt has earned rave reviews for his defensive resurgence during training camp. The 6-foot-8 forward has 13 rebounds, four steals and one block in three preseason games. He even turned heads with tweaked shooting mechanics to potentially increase his influence as a potential three-and-D option.

But Vanderbilt is one for 10 from three-point range in three preseason games.

The offensive load during James’ absence will likely fall more toward Hachimura or free agent addition Jake LaRavia.

Second-year guard Dalton Knecht could provide a scoring punch off the bench, especially after Redick said Knecht was the team’s best offensive player in training camp. Knecht, who struggled during summer league because he over-trained during the offseason, was outscoring his teammates by 42 points during live practice periods by Sunday. Redick rewarded him with a starting spot in the home preseason game against the Warriors and he responded with 16 points on four-of-nine shooting from the field and was six of eight from the free throw line.

But the 24-year-old who was briefly traded last year to return only when the deal fell through needs to earn his playing time by showing other skills.

“His ceiling is going to be based on his improvement this season as a defender,” Redick said.

Austin Reaves has already carried the heaviest workload of the preseason, especially as Doncic and James were out. Reaves delivered with 41 points in 44 minutes in two games, but knows any single Herculean effort won’t be enough to replace James long-term.

“It’s a next-man-up mentality,” Reaves said, echoing a similar message from Doncic. “Nobody is going to fill what he does with one person. I can’t go be LeBron. I wish I could. But I think you got to do it as a collective group. And that’s what we’ll do.”

Favorite thing I ate this week

Clockwise from top left: Shrimp shumai, fried shrimp ball, baked BBQ pork bun, steam pork bun and shrimp noodle rolls.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

The Lakers got a valuable week at home, but I stayed on the road for a friend’s wedding in Brooklyn. To me, there’s no better way to celebrate than with dim sum.

We schlepped from Brooklyn to Manhattan’s Golden Unicorn, where I was too impatient to take a picture of everything, but the first wave included baked BBQ pork buns, steamed pork buns, shrimp noodle rolls, shrimp shumai and fried shrimp balls.

My dim sum staples are har gow and the classic pork and shrimp shumai, but my favorite dish this time was mango pudding (unfortunately not pictured). Loaded with chunks of fresh mango, it was the perfect sweet treat before I spent the next few hours in food coma mode.

In case you missed it

Luka Doncic set to play in first preseason game against Suns Tuesday

JJ Redick isn’t overly concerned about the Lakers’ on-court chemistry

LeBron James to miss Lakers’ opening game because of sciatica issue

Natalia Bryant makes her debut as a creative director with Lakers short film

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at [email protected], and please consider subscribing if you like our work!