Luke Walton’s intentions were noble, and they were sound. At the beginning of a season he knew would be difficult, a time when the Lakers’ kids would finally escape the all-encompassing shadow of Kobe Bryant and would have to learn how to win on their own, the Lakers coach declared he would pay less attention to results than to his players’ growth and development.
There would be mistakes, he knew, and the standings would sometimes be an ugly sight.
“The game plan going in is not to let that affect us as a team, as players, as a coaching staff,” he said on opening night.