The Opening Match of the New Season

However, one team stole the spotlight from every other team in the preseason—the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers, who had assembled F4 that summer, had shockingly failed to win a single preseason game. This stunned fans everywhere. After all, this was a Los Angeles Lakers team featuring Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, and Nash.

Goodwin was not surprised by this result. The Los Angeles Lakers looked extremely powerful on the surface, but they were actually hollow within!

The entire Los Angeles Lakers team had serious issues on the offensive end, mainly reflected in their chaotic execution of tactics. Because the coach was indecisive about how to use the four superstars, the team was unable to effectively implement a run-and-gun system.

At the same time, Pau Gasol's high-post facilitation did not mesh well with Dwight Howard demanding the ball in the low post, while Kobe Bryant's solo efforts failed to achieve the desired results. Together, these factors led to chaos and disorder on offense.

On the defensive end, although they had defensive anchors such as Dwight Howard inside and Artest on the perimeter, Howard was still affected by injuries and was far from his former self, while Artest's defense was no longer what it once was either.

Furthermore, the team lacked chemistry and coordination on defense, making them unable to effectively contain opponents' attacks, which caused their defensive efficiency to plummet.

Finally, because of their poor performances on both offense and defense, the team lacked confidence during games. Distrust among the players, distrust in the system and their teammates, confusion over their own roles, and a huge psychological gap all followed. These mental issues further affected the players' performances on the court.

All of it combined to cause the Los Angeles Lakers to lose.

Before the season opener,