The Lakeshow Review

The Lakers vibes have gone the way of the dead of winter.

After solidifying some momentum following their win at the Mile High City, one that saw LA erase a 14-point halftime deficit into an improbable comeback, the team finally looked primed for a run of inspiring basketball. Sadly, those plans were halted in Inglewood, CA of all places, as the team made their way back to their home state to take on former hallway rivals, the Clippers. The Lakers hoped to keep things rolling on the second game of their road trip, but unsurprisingly, they forgot to bring their competitive edge. The vaunted Clips tore up the Purple and Gold to the tune of a 112-104 beatdown. Thus raising many questions and concerns as the team moves on to game three of their current eight-game road trip.

The game started out promisingly. The Lakers were looking fairly crisp with their offensive execution in high gear. Luka Dončić also found a groove early, scoring 14 of his game-high 32 points in the opening quarter. Despite that, the Clippers’ offense was even sharper, as they riddled LAs porous ball screen defense as well as their disorganized off-ball defense. The Clippers have superior floor spacing to that of the Lakers’, with players such as Brook Lopez (10 points), John Collins (13 points), Kobe Sanders (11 points) and Jordan Miller (14 points) combining to shoot 7-13 from three, successfully opening the floor for their stars Kawhi Leonard (24 points) and James Harden (18 points). The Lakers could not match this kind of offensive balance, with Dončić scoring 32 points, and LeBron chipping in with 23 points on 19 shots, and Marcus Smart as the only other starter in double-figures with 10 points (on 10 shots). Rui Hachimura stepped in to provide 12 points off the bench, but doing so on 11 shots. In a make-or-miss league, the Lakers simply aren’t shooting the basketball with enough consistency. It’s more complex than that, as the team, and its caching staff don’t employ the requisite creativity on offense to unlock the strengths of its personnel. However, it’s also safe to say that the team gravely lacks capable shotmakers to offset their poor coaching. They shot 33% from deep as a unit, which is respectable on an off night. But sadly, this was one of their better nights as of late. The Clippers in comparison shot 39% from deep, and the shooting discrepancy was a major culprit in the Lakers digging themselves a 64-47 hole at halftime.

Surprisingly, the second-half defense was one of the lone bright spots of last night’s contest. Down 26 points midway through the third quarter, the Lakers fought back to make it somewhat of a game. Eventually getting to within two points in the fourth quarter, on the back of a 19-7 run to end the third quarter. But the closer the Lakers inched back into the game, the more the Clippers clamped down on defense, exposing LAs glaring weakness on offense; that being their lack of consistent shotmaking. The Lakers were actually able to create quality looks for Rui Hachimura, and Marcus Smart, but simply couldn’t capitalize. Thus, the Clippers were able to pull away every time the Lakers attempted to close the gap and secure a comfortable eight-point victory.

Second-half defense notwithstanding, this team has a lot of work to do. Outside of Luka, whose 32 point, 11 rebound, eight assists, three steal game, the team found no ancillary scoring to supplement its star. LAs floor spacing is simply brutal. Opponents, as the Clips did last night, can simply collapse the middle of the floor on drives or ball screen actions, and the Lakers don’t have the players to make defenses pay for those decisions. Moreover, opponents are regularly helping OFF of the the strong side corner, generally considered a basketball sin, to virtually no consequence. Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura, LAs two premier corner options, combined to shoot 3-12 from three versus the Clipers. Which included 2-7 in the fourth quarter. As I’ve said before, that’s a handicap too steep to overcome. Even with the surprisingly inspired defensive play during the second half, the Lakers simply couldn’t claw their way back into the game because their outside shooting consistently let them down in crucial spots.

After 43 game played, a smidge over half of the season, it’s fair to say we have a clear picture of what this team is. And for them to realistically compete, whether it be this year, or next year or in the coming years, big changes need to be made. The roster, as constructed, is woefully unbalanced. They lack shooters, rangy defenders, and players who can provide a mix of both. They also lack a reliable interior defensive presence; Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes combined to score 10 points and seven boards as they were thoroughly outplayed by Iviza Zubac (18 points and 19 boards) and Brook Lopez (10 points off the bench). They were decimated on the offensive glass, 13-6. When you are hard of shooting, and haemorrhaging rebounds, you aren’t a serious threat to win in the NBA. Defensively, though good in spurts, the team has no consistent defensive principles to hang their heads on, often exhibiting bad closeouts, poor rotations, and lackluster instincts on the defensive side. Concepts such as low man, switching, and stunt and recover seem totally foreign to a team devoid of a defensive identity. There are certainly capable individual defenders, such as Smart, Vando, or Jake LaRavia. Even LeBron and Luka can look motivated at times. But there’s no system to bring it all together, and offer clear and consistent roles to every player.

Safe to say, the front office has a lot of work to do. Bringing in the right players is key, but having the right coaches to implement the right game plans is just as paramount. Hard to say if all of it can be fixed just this year, as there are so many questions surrounding the roster, and its construction. But tough decisions will have to be made in order to find the right roster build to suit the team’s stars, because the current one just doesn’t seem to be it. With that said, the team still needs to buckle down and find a way to stay competitive in the final six games of their current road trip. They’ll now travel to Dallas to take on Luka’s old team, the Mavericks this Saturday. Despite their record of 19-26, they still have a promising and talented nuclues led by prized rookie Cooper Flagg. Needless to say, it isn’t a freebie game, thus the team should show up ready to put the Clipper disaster game behind and try to get back on track. The current theme should be to survive and keep their heads above water. They’re still a play-in team as they stand, at 26-17. I think they can still play much better and climb their way back in the standings. Go Lakers.