The Los Angeles Lakers have not been playing good basketball lately. Since winning the In-Season Tournament, the Lakers have a record of 3-9 and have gotten the doors blown off of them a couple of times. They have a net rating of -5.4 over those 12 games and need to start playing better if they want to get their season back on track.
There was a report on Thursday on the players being unhappy with the way Darvin Ham keeps changing the rotations. They have used 6 different starting lineups over their last 12 games, a different lineup for every 2 games. Ham has been trying to figure out ways to get the guys to win games and that has led to changing starting 5’s. He started the season with a lineup of D’Angelo Russell/Austin Reaves/Tauren Prince/LeBron James/Anthony Davis, that lineup had a net rating of 0.0 in 123 minutes, meaning they were very very average. Then he replaced Reaves with Cam Reddish for better defense. In 151 minutes the new starting 5 had a net rating of 0.3, again average. Then, he really went all-in on defense, replacing Russell with Jarred Vanderbilt and in 29 minutes that lineup has actually produced according to the net rating, with a net rating of +11.4. However, Ham wanted more offense to start games after a 20 point loss to the Pelicans so he replaced Vanderbilt with Reaves to start Wednesday’s game against the Heat. A lineup that in 27 minutes has been significantly worse than the one with Vanderbilt, with a net rating of -5.3. The advanced metric of net rating tells us that the Lakers should start LeBron James/Cam Reddish/Taurean Prince/Jarred Vanderbilt/Anthony Davis but I do not think that having LeBron as the lone ball handler to start the game is a good move and I worry about the spacing in that lineup. I think I would start the Russell/Reddish/Prince/James/Davis lineup and see what that can give me.
On offense, the Lakers are near the top of the league in percentage of shots within 10 feet and at the bottom of percentage of shots from 3 point range. I do not hate that they try as close to the rim as possible to take a shot but they rank 24th in the NBA in offensive rating and they have LeBron James on their team. They need to take more threes. Rui Hachimura is one player on the roster who I would like to take more 3’s. He is shooting 37% on 3 pointers this season and only 33% of his shots come from beyond the arch. If you are that efficient from 3, take more of them. Hachimura takes 2.4 less 3’s per game than Taureen Prince, I would like to see him launch from 3 more often.
The Lakers defense has been good to start the season, ranking 10th in defense to start the season. That starts and ends with Anthony Davis who has had a monster season on both sides on the court. He has had averages of 25.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.7 blocks per game this season and has looked like one of the best players in the league. His high point was a 40 point, 20 rebound, 5 assist, and 4 block game in the In-Season Tournament final against the Indiana Pacers, where he completely dominated every aspect of the game. Davis has been playing his best ball as of late, even with the Lakers losing. Davis has played in 11 of the 12 games and has averaged 30.0 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.5 blocks in those games. He has been dominant. As I wrote after the I.S.T. LeBron has been great, yet the Lakers are 17-18. A trade or 2 need to come, what could they be?
The deal everyone has talked about is Zach LaVine. LaVine has been in trade rumors all season and the Lakers are expected to be a major factor in those discussions. The offer of Hachimura, Russell, and their 2029 first round pick is one that I think is fair but I am not sure I would make if I was Los Angeles. LaVine has been out of the lineup the last 17 games though is expected to return Friday against the Hornets. He would provide the Lakers another 3 point shooter, he is shooting 36% this season on catch and shoot 3 point looks and 34% overall. However, the contract is bad and his defense is worse so I am not a fan of the fit in Los Angeles. Two players I would love on the Lakers are Terry Rozier and Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon is the more likely candidate. This season, Brogdon is averaging 15.7 points and 5.6 assists on shooting splits of .48/.44/.86. He is a lights out 3 point shooter, last season with the Boston Celtics he shot 44% on catch and shoot 3 pointers. He can run the pick and roll and would be a great fit with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Rozier is similar but a better defender than Brogdon. The Lakers could make a LaVine deal but a deal for a point guard to replace D’Angelo Russell seems like a better trade to me.
The Lakers had a good start to the season but have faltered as of late. With the trade deadline right around the corner, I expect L.A. to be active in trying to upgrade their team around James and Davis. The Lakers have, arguably, 2 of the 10 best players in the NBA, they can absolutely turn their season around with a trade and better play from the rest of their guys.
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