The Lakeshow Review

It was along 48 minutes in Sacramento. The Lakers took to the road after a disappointing showing against the Milwaukee Bucks last Friday, where they were unable to secure a win in the last minutes of the game. They badly needed a win, and on the road, against a mediocre team, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to play the proverbial “get right” game. Instead, the Lakers came out and managed to look even worse against the 9-29 Sacramento Kings. The Lakers put forth a pedestrian effort, one where they shoed no intention of winning the contest. LAs complete lack of offense proved costly, as Sacramento out-shot and ran them out of the gym. We’ll see how the team bounces back, but as of right now, they’re playing their worst basketball of the season.

The Kings themselves were coming in to the game with some momentum, following a victory over the Houston Rockets after a seven game losing streak. They received valuable contributions from their starting unit with Russell Westbrook (22 points/five rebounds/seven assists), Zach LaVine (19 points), and Demar Derozan (32 points/six rebounds) all having big nights. Reserve guard Malik Monk also had big 26 points off the bench.

The Lakers meanwhile, only saw a big night from Luka Dončić whose 42 points led all players, while also collecting seven rebounds and eight assists. Jake LaRavia, Marcus Smart and Jarred Vanderbilt managed to score all of three points in a combined 84 minutes and 1-16 shooting. YIKES. As I’ve stated before, it’s tough (read:nearly impossible) to win with such self-inflicted handicaps. The three-point shooting continues to crater after an 8-36 (22%) exhibition from range. The Lakers, as a team, need to find their shot soon or else these woes will only amplify. Despite a promising start to the game, having built an early 15-10 lead, Sacramento’s balanced offensive play eventually took charge, eventually cruising to a comfortable 124-112 win over the Lakers.

As of right now, the Lakers look like a team in flux. Their chemistry and execution seems off, and it’s evident in the way they play defense. The Lakers don’t communicate defensively. This particularly hurts them in help scenarios, where they fail to funnel the ballhandler into the help, which is a must considering their lack of impactful individual defenders. In order to win, LA must play well-above average team defense consistently. Then there’s the fact that the ball screen defense continues to be abysmal. The Lakers rely on drop coverage far too frequently, when they should be asking their bigs to creep up more to the level of the screen in order to hedge and force the ballhandler to navigate through the bigs before getting into the lane. Instead the Lakers simply surrender the lane where they don’t have elite rim protectors near the basket. Transition defense continues to sputter as well, with guys not communicating and constantly missing assignments, namely at stopping the ball. Lastly, the team is horrible at playing the gaps, with no concept of stunt-and-recovering, often promoting easy drives to the basket after the initial defender gets blown by. Lately, there’s a clear lack of hustle, execution and overall disconnect defensively which makes one question if the team has tuned out the coaching staff, or if there’s any sort of inner friction that’s triggering such lackluster and uninspired effort.

With all that said, any team that’s consistently shooting in the 20s for three point percentage is begging to get beat in today’s NBA. That’s the type of offensive dearth the Lakers have been putting forth lately. We can talk about the roster being unbalanced, the lack of perimeter defenders/athletes on the roster, LeBron James taking up 35% of the salary cap as a third option at 41 years old, all of which are true. But if the team can’t improve their offensive output, they’re hopeless. They need to be able to score the ball with more consistency, and they need more production out of their role players, including LeBron, who was outplayed by Russell Westbrook tonight, adding insult to injury. LAs once productive pick-and-roll attack, their bread and butter has plateau’d as of late, with opponents successfully dialling the right adjustments due to its predictability. Luka ball screens look increasingly more congested, as teams are just packing the paint, ignoring corner ‘shooters’ such as Vando or Smart. LAs inability to make teams pay from range, particularly from the corners, is torpedoing their screen and roll efficiency, which is the hallmark of any Luka-led offense. The Lakers need to make changes to their offensive approach and do so quickly.

With the team’s woes as of late, it’s tough to say that any of it is an easy fix. Hopefully the return of Rui Hachimura will boost the offense, as well as Austin Reaves’ return further down the line. For now, JJ Redick must get more creative with his offensive sets, and try to diversify things a little bit. Defensively, there’s still plenty of work as well. It starts with demanding more effort, better communication and sounder execution from the players on the court. Team defense should be one of the main areas of focus, needing to improve. The Lakers will take on the Atlanta Hawks back home tomorrow. The team should be prepared and come out of the gates hungry and with every intention of finding their groove. They’re at the point where they can allow their season to spiral, despite a great start, if they don’t start fixing things now. Hopefully, they know this and will react accordingly. Go Lakers.