Except for Doncic, it’s a disaster! Player ratings for the Lakers opening game: New aid Ayton only received a D grade

Translator's Note: The original article was published in SSR. The data in the article are as of the time of the original publication (October 22, local time). The dates and times involved are all local time.

The charm and helplessness of the NBA season opener is that months of anticipation finally ushered in a game, and this game, from a macro perspective, in the 82-game regular season, is no more important than any matchup in mid-January, even if it feels much more important.

As part of the first two games of the 2025-26 season, all eyes were on the Lakers, who (except for Luka Doncic) quickly blew the game. The new face of the Lakers has been nearly impeccable, while his teammates have been abysmal.

In many ways, this is exactly what Lakers fans have become accustomed to in recent years. Although they trailed by only one point at halftime, they were attacked by their opponents 16-4 in the first five minutes of the second half. In the end, they lost by 10 points in a single quarter.

Then, they launched a counterattack in the fourth quarter, but as the game progressed, this counterattack could no longer raise the hopes of the fans, and they eventually lost the game. This has become an old routine.

The so-called "new season, new Lakers" is nothing more than that.

Anyway, let’s analyze this defeat in depth. As always, ratings are based on expectations for each player. A "B" grade represents the player's average level.

Austin Reeves

In 36 minutes, he scored 26 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 5 turnovers, 5 fouls, 9 of 16 shots, 1 of 5 three-pointers, 7 of 10 free throws, plus or minus -14

From a statistical point of view, Reeves' game performance seems to be very good. However, I think most people who watched the game were disappointed with his performance.

Reeves only scored 13 points before scoring a layup with 9 minutes and 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and then he began to lead the team in the final pursuit of points, but failed. This is not the first time that he has been quiet for most of the game and then participated in a comeback that fell short at the last minute.

If Reeves wants to get a superstar-level salary next summer, he needs to perform at a superstar level before the team falls behind by a big score and he gets into foul trouble.

Rating: D+

Hachimura

In 35 minutes, he scored 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 3 of 6 shots, 3 of 6 three-pointers, plus-minus value of -6

Hachimura hit two three-pointers at the end of the first half to help the Lakers take the lead briefly, but other than that he only hit one goal. Hachimura makes plays like this from time to time, and, like Reeves, they have to be eliminated if he wants to land another big contract in free agency.

Rating: F

DeAndre Ayton

In 34 minutes, he scored 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, 5 of 7 shots, 0 of 2 free throws, plus or minus -4

Ayton's so-called "fulfilment of rhetoric with actions", his performance was nothing more than this. This game exposed many of Ayton’s bad habits throughout his career. He doesn't do a good job rebounding. He's not aggressive enough offensively. There wasn’t much chemistry between him and Luka.

Even if his performance was acceptable when he was pulled out of the penalty area by the Warriors on the defensive end, such performance was far from acceptable.

Rating: D

Gabe Vincent

In 29 minutes, he scored 3 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 fouls, 1 of 4 shots, 1 of 4 three-pointers, plus/minus -5

This may be the first and last game that Vincent starts. The case for starting him hinges on two things: his shooting and his defense.

In nearly 30 minutes, he only hit one of his four three-point attempts, so the strategy of counting on his shooting failed to work. And because the Lakers switched defenses from positions one to four, the Warriors allowed Jimmy Butler to target him by running without the ball and took advantage of it. This was strictly not his fault.

But he didn't play well either.

Rating: F

Luka Doncic

scored 43 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals in 41 minutes, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 1 foul, 17 of 27 shots, 2 of 10 three-pointers, 7 of 10 free throws, plus-minus -8

What a great start to the season for Luka. From the beginning of the game, he showed absolute dominance, giving the Warriors players everything they asked for. He worked tirelessly to get into the paint and hit 15 of 17 shots from behind the arc. He created too many opportunities for the Lakers, especially in the third quarter when the team's offense completely stalled.

Even though everything else around Luka sucked for most of the game, his performance was MVP-level.

Rating: A+

Marcus Smart

In 23 minutes, he scored 9 points, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls, 3 of 6 shots, 0 of 3 three-pointers, 3 of 4 free throws, plus/minus +2

Is this the "Marcus Smart Experience" this season? Because if that's the case, then I have to adapt quickly. His statistics don't fully reflect that in the 23 minutes he played, he was basically the centerpiece of everything on the court, especially in the first half.

His performance in the second half was not as chaotic as the first, but as long as he was on the court, he always brought a kind of frenetic energy..

That said, he does provide energy, and if the Lakers are going to make a lot of defensive changes, then he must be in the starting lineup.

Rating: B+

Jack Laravia

In 16 minutes, he scored 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 foul, 2 of 4 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 0 of 2 free throws, plus or minus -5

After experiencing a very bad first half, Laravia's performance in the second half improved. He had a pretty lackluster game with not many highlights. You can see his value in the rotation, but the Lakers need him to contribute more in all aspects.

Rating: C

Jaxon Hayes

In 14 minutes, he scored 4 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 2 of 3 shots, plus-minus -6

For Lakers fans, Hayes is now a player that everyone knows well. Honestly, six rebounds in 14 minutes was a great night for him. Moreover, he can also be said to be the Lakers' best center tonight. But this was more of a criticism of Ayton’s performance than a compliment to Hayes.

Rating: B+

Jared Vanderbilt

12 minutes, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 0 of 4 shots, 0 of 2 three-pointers, plus-minus -4

Well, this is a rather disappointing start to the season for Vanderbilt. Again, it was just one game, but Vanderbilt was abysmal offensively. From the preseason to today's game, there is no evidence that his three-point shooting has improved.

Coupled with the loss of the ball on a breakthrough and the failure to finish at the basket, this is simply a concentrated exposure of all Vanderbilt's shortcomings, with almost no positives.

Rating: F

JJ Redick

Redick should bear the main responsibility for this defeat.

First of all, it turns out that the decision to start Vincent was completely wrong. The Warriors had Butler guard him the entire game, which was completely predictable.

Secondly, although it is okay for the Lakers to prioritize player health in the preseason, this approach is obviously overkill, resulting in the team not getting enough opportunities to practice together. This made them look disorganized and completely lost on the offensive end in today's game, and they could only rely on Luka's personal ability to solve the problem.

The team's offensive performance this night would have been disastrous if Luka hadn't hit some wonder shots and created scoring opportunities of his own.

Rating: F

Inactive players:

Bronny James, Dalton Knect, Christian Kolok

Inactive players:

LeBron James, Maxi Kleber, Nick Smith Jr., Adu Tierro, Chris Manon

Author: Jacob Rude

Translator: GWayNe