What's Wrong with the Lakers
The Lakers have lost 3 in a row with games coming up against Utah, Portland, Golden State, Phoenix, and Sacramento in that order. Anthony Davis will probably be out another 4 weeks. Dennis Schröder has missed the last 3 games due to health and safety protocols and it is unclear when he will return.
Fatigue
The Lakers had an incredibly short break with their first game of the season coming just 71 days after their Game 6 win versus the Heat. 8 of their 32 games (one quarter) have come on the first or second nights of a back-to-back. None of their games have gotten postponed due to COVID so far like many other teams.
Veterans with mileage like Marc Gasol, Wes Matthews, and Markieff Morris are still getting their legs under them. Alex Caruso has still yet to play a whole season in his NBA career. Talen Horton-Tucker is not used to the now 72-game grind yet. You can see it in his jump-shot where he’s getting zero legs under him (just 2/14 from 3 over the last 12 games).
This team is tired. Is it an excuse? I don’t care what you call it, but it is a reality and to not acknowledge it would be dishonest. Over the last 12 games, the Lakers are 29th in 3-point percentage (29.8%), 25th in free throw percentage (75.1%) and last in turnovers (16.3 per game). That’s what tired teams do.
They went from averaging 12 made 3s and 14 turnovers over their first 20 games to 9 made 3s and 16 turnovers over their last 12 games. That’s losing 9 points and gaining two additional dead possessions. That’s how you go from blowing teams out to losing to Miami at the buzzer and Washington in overtime.
Offense and Players Missing
LAL’s current issues were happening before AD and Dennis missed time, but now the margin for error is cut down significantly and exacerbates LeBron James’ workload. The offense is built around a ball-handler making plays for others. When LeBron sits, the Lakers are having wide receivers play backup quarterback. It would help if your star tight end, AD, was playing, but he’s not.
This leads into a big issue that lots of fans are complaining about: the offense. It’s been bad. Can Frank Vogel be better? Absolutely, but let’s not scapegoat him when it’s a collective effort. The players are tired and are in a 3-point regression. This team was red hot earlier in the season and have just fallen off a cliff lately.
Did Vogel all of a sudden start calling different plays? No. Should he adjust more? Yes, but the formula that got them success in the beginning is still there.
The Lakers have only practiced nine times this season. They only had two weeks of training camp. Vogel is still feeling out this team. It is frustrating, but it is a reality. This issue is not going to be fixed overnight. It’s a process and the Lakers have bigger goals than winning random games in February.
Endgame
The endgame is the Larry O-Brien trophy. Does seeding really matter for the Lakers? Maybe some, but there is no easy path to a championship even if they are the 1-seed. Remember last season when people were hoping for the Lakers to avoid the Rockets in the 2nd Round? That turned out okay.
At the end of the day, the two biggest concerns right now should be the health of the two stars, LeBron and AD. The latter is obviously out with a calf issue and the former is averaging more than 38 minutes per game over the last 12 games at 36 years old in Year 18.
I’m not a doctor and I do not know the current health and fitness of the stars. I just hope the players and coaching and training staffs take the proper precautions. There are still 40 games left in the season, plenty of time for them to find their groove and ramp up for the playoffs.
Roster Moves
Do the Lakers NEED to make a trade? Their roster is still incredibly good and deep. That’s why they won games in that dull stretch before AD and Schröder were out. Most teams do not pull out those wins under similar conditions.
With the waiving of Quinn Cook, the Lakers are now roughly $1.3M under the hard cap and have two spaces available for the buyout market. While they made no trades last season, picking up Keef was huge for helping them win the title. This season can be similar, especially since it will be very difficult for them to make a trade with being so close to the hard cap.
When healthy, this roster is still strong and deep. They matchup well versus all the top teams and should be the title favorite. They are still the best defense in the league by a healthy margin with two absolute superstars, one of which is the arguable GOAT.
In the words of LaVar Ball, “The Lakers finna be fine.”