Arguably the biggest reason the Los Angeles Lakers have a mediocre 24-23 record is their offense. They lack the firepower the good and great teams in the NBA have, and their 3-point shooting has been a big problem.
However, they may be starting to stage a revival. They have won five of their last seven games. While their defense hasn’t been very strong during that time, their offense has.
In their last seven games, the Lakers actually rank near the top of the NBA in several key offensive categories.
- Fifth in offensive rating
- Third in assists (31 per game)
- Second in scoring (126.7 points per game)
- Second in overall field-goal accuracy (51.8%)
- Sixth in free-throw attempts (25.7 per game) and fourth in free-throw accuracy (82.2%)
- Third in points in the paint (58.9 per game, tied with the Houston Rockets)
- First in fast-break points (24.6 per game)
In fact, L.A. has even excelled at what has been arguably its biggest weakness this season. In its last seven games, while it has been 28th in 3-point attempts per game, it has been fourth in accuracy at 40.9%.
Granted, it isn’t a large sample space, but this offensive excellence has coincided with D’Angelo Russell’s return to the team’s starting lineup.