Twenty games into their schedule, the Los Angeles Lakers are a disappointing 11-9. While they have had scattered moments of excellence as well as wins against very good teams, they are very much a work in progress.
Despite boasting LeBron James and Anthony Davis, arguably the top superstar duo in the NBA, as well as some very capable role players and complementary players, they seem to be underperforming. This begs the question of what’s wrong and what their biggest problem is.
Some would say injuries. Yes, Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish, Gabe Vincent and Rui Hachimura, to name a few players, have missed significant time with various ailments. Given L.A., as presently constituted, has only been together for about four months, these ailments have thrown a monkey wrench into its efforts to build chemistry. However, the team has had enough healthy players to win more often than it has.
Some would say defensive rebounding. That was a problem very recently, and the Lakers rank last in opponents’ second-chance points. However, they actually rank ninth in defensive rebound percentage, and their overall defense hasn’t been that bad either. In fact, in their last 12 games, they rank seventh in defensive rating and have won eight of those contests.
Some would say slow starts, but the team has improved in that area over the last two or three weeks.
Now that almost exactly a quarter of the season is in the books for the Lakers, it’s clear their biggest deficiency is their lack of 3-point shooting.
