Are the Lakers headed in the right direction?
Is there any hope with this Lakers roster, or is it time to panic? What are the Lakers doing right and wrong? What are the problems with the team and how should they fix them?
By Gary Guillory
Is Russell Westbrook coming off the bench a huge factor for the Lakers? / Photo courtesy of Lakers Official Website
The Los Angeles Lakers have not had the best couple of weeks. They have the worst team three-point percentage in the league, went on a five-game losing streak, and have the worst offensive efficiency.
On the bright side, the Lakers had a top-five team defensive rating. Hopefully, this is a sign that the Lakers will finally start winning some games and the roster will start being more comfortable with each other.
Will this team be able to succeed down the road or will they continue to disappoint?
Russell Westbrook coming off the bench
Many fans were not very fond of how Russell Westbrook has been performing recently. Westbrook was starting in the first four games and for some reason, he still has not been able to perform like he used to.
Luckily, head coach Darvin Ham was able to convince Westbrook to sacrifice his starting role and come off the bench to join the second unit. His first game off the bench showed a lot of potential of how Westbrook can contribute to this Lakers team. It was not until his second game off the bench that he shined the brightest.
Westbrook played one of his best games with the Lakers when they won against the Denver Nuggets. He was able to play with the energy that he’s been wanting and at a pace that motivated the team.
After the game, Ham had nothing but praise for Westbrook saying “I can’t even imagine what that kid is going through. [...] I told him just listen to me, believe in me [...] It can’t be about me or I or mine, it’s got to be us, ours, we. And he’s done that.”
If Westbrook is able to contribute like this every game then the Lakers will be in the right direction.
The three-point shooting
When the Lakers went up against the Denver Nuggets for the first time they shot 8 shots for 30 attempts from beyond the arc. This made the Lakers the worst three-point shooting team in NBA history within a four-game span.
Players like Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn and even LeBron James are struggling from downtown and seems like there are no signs of life from outside the arch. Is there any way they can improve their three-point shooting?
There is no simple answer to this problem. After the season opener, Darvin Ham was asked about how they can improve the shooting saying “We just got to continue to get the reps [...] You become better at anything with more reps. [...] Guys just got to step up and knock down shots.”
Top Tier Defense
The Lakers' offense has been very questionable before their first win against the Denver Nuggets, but the Laker's defensive rating through the past couple of games has been outstanding. So far their defense has only allowed 106.1 points per game.
This puts the Lakers in the top five defensive-rated teams in the NBA. When LeBron James was asked how he felt about the Laker's defense he said “It’s how hard we play [...] and we’ve got to defend. When we defend, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win. And that’s a good ingredient to have.”
If the Laker's defense continues to stay at this level and if their offense starts to improve, then they might start looking dangerous.
With the Lakers starting to show some hope, is it possible that they could start to look like a contender? It is only a matter of time until we find out.
