Lakers analysis from the first 10 games:
After giving up a season-high in points (139) against the Jazz on Monday, the Lakers are headed for a disastrous season at the rate they’re going.
With high expectations at the start of the season, no one penciled in the Lakers to start 2–8 in their first ten games. But they just as easily could have been 0–10 with how they’ve played as a unit.
Don’t hit the panic button on the Lakers just yet. Give this team some leeway to develop chemistry (if no trade is made). If the Lakers are going to execute a trade soon, what’s the point of letting this team continue the path they’re going? A lot of pressure is on Rob Pelinka to make a change or keep the course.
This roster is screaming for a trade to surround LeBron and Anthony Davis with suitable pieces to space the floor.
The Injuries.
Injuries will always hit a team at some point in the season, and for the Lakers, it hit them early on, with a possible effect on their 2–8 start.
Just before the start of the season, the Lakers lost Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant to thumb injuries that required both to have surgery, forcing them to miss the first ten games of the season and more.
Thomas Bryant and Dennis Schröder are set to be reevaluated within the next two weeks to determine their timetables. Schröder has begun individual workouts and will be reevaluated this week.
The Lakers were without forward Troy Brown Jr. during the preseason and the first two games of the season due to a back injury. Thankfully, he’s transitioned nicely into the rotation and hasn’t looked to have any issues with his back.
There is a nasty bug that has plagued the team in the past couple of weeks, affecting Patrick Beverly, Lonnie Walker IV, and even LeBron, who said in his post-game interview against the Pelicans that he didn’t get to enjoy Halloween because he was in bed sick.
LeBron has a left foot injury that kept him out of Monday’s loss against the Jazz. With two days of rest until Wednesday’s matchup against the Clippers, look for LeBron to return to the lineup.
Anthony Davis has also been dealing with a back injury (back tightness) that has affected him since the preseason, which is why he was listed as probable in Monday’s matchup with the Jazz.
The Lakers are shooting historically bad from three.
Shooting dead last at 29.1% from behind the arc, the Lakers’ three-point shooting has been one of the primary aspects of their horrific start.
In the first two games of the season, the Lakers were the worst three-point shooting team in NBA history in a two-game span, with a minimum of 60 three-point attempts.
The Lakers’ starting unit is all shooting below average from three, showing just how desperate they are for shooting.
LeBron James — 21% 3P%
Anthony Davis — 23% 3P%
Lonnie Walker IV — 30% 3P%
Patrick Beverly — 23% 3P%
Troy Brown Jr — 32% 3P%
Russell Westbrook — 32% 3P%
Austin Reaves has been the Lakers’ best three-point shooter in the first ten games, shooting 41% from behind the arc.
The Lakers are also in the bottom five in the NBA in field goal percentage at 44%, ranking 26th in the league.
Second-half meltdowns.
The Lakers have also been one of the worst second-half teams in the league, starting continuously slow out of halftime in multiple games this season, rating last in the NBA with -6.8.
Scoring just 36 total second-half points in their loss against the Cavs on Sunday is one example of teams scheming around the Lakers’ weakness of outside shooting.
One of the reasons for that can be a lack of chemistry or simply a lack of floor space, with teams dialing in at halftime and making adjustments to pack the paint and over-defend on AD.
Teams would rather live by letting the Lakers shoot from three because of how below-average they are at hitting them, making it a recipe for disaster for the Lakers without true knockdown shooters.
Dialing in on defense.
The Lakers defense was off to a pretty good start outside of their losses. The only problem they had in the first five games was their lack of consistency shooting from the floor and three.
In the past three games, the Lakers’ defense has dropped every game due to their loss of defensive intensity and identity.
Their defense is ranked in the middle of the pack at 12 (slowly dipping) after being in the top ten in the first five-to-six games of the season.
In two of the previous three games, the Lakers have allowed their opponents to score over 130 points, allowing a combined score of 259 in two games against the Jazz. The Jazz might be the greatest team ever assembled in NBA history.
Momentum is not lost, accountability is being found on this team.
Anthony Davis was vocal on how the team has played in the first ten games of the season, voicing how they “don’t defend” after Monday’s loss to the Jazz.
“We just got to come out and put it together for a full 48. Played great first-half basketball, and in 3rd quarter we gave this away because we don’t defend, and it’s hard to win basketball games like that. That’s been a lot of our losses,” said Davis.
Darvin Ham has not shied away from calling out this Lakers team when they haven’t played well enough, showing how passionate he is about winning and wanting his players to succeed.
“It’s not always going to be like this. We’re gonna turn the corner. I didn’t come here to lose,” said Ham.
The Lakers need to take a hard look at themselves in the mirror if they want to turn their season around, and that starts on the defensive end. They have shown that they could be one of the top defending teams in the league, all they need is their intensity back. You can have that when you have one of the best shot-blocking big men in the NBA.
