Can the Lakers Turn Things Around at the Halfway Point?
By Hagen Sparrow
The Lakers' struggles during the first half have sparked questions among basketball fans. What can this team do to turn things around and make a deep playoff run?
Coaching has been at the forefront of this discussion with many accusing Head Coach Darvin Ham for these struggles. This season, Ham has made questionable changes to the starting lineup which has left Laker fans unhappy.
During their deep postseason run last year, the starting lineup consisted of D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Jared Vanderbilt and Anthony Davis. Ham has veered away from what seemed to be working by using a starting lineup that varies from night to night. The inconsistency has caused issues between Ham and his players.
The Athletic stated that there has been a “disconnect between Ham and that Lakers locker room right now,” as they try to figure out these lineup changes and stay in the playoff race.
Even though there have been struggles, the Lakers organization decided not to make any moves at the trade deadline. This left many people scratching their heads due to them holding multiple future first-round picks.
Despite their lack of moves at the trade deadline, the Lakers managed to pick up guard Spencer Dinwiddie who was a free agent due to a buyout. This addition is important to this squad because it brings more experience into their rotation.
Dinwiddie is averaging 12.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 6.0. assists per game. His experience and veteran presence will help the Lakers immensely.
Not everything has been negative for this Los Angeles Lakers team this season. This team managed to win the very first in-season tournament. This is an accomplishment that can be used as fuel showing the team that they can compete with anyone.
Both superstars, James and Davis, have been dominating in every way possible.
James is averaging 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 7.8 assists (eighth in the league) this season. He is doing all of these things while also being the oldest player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at 39 years of age.
As for Davis, he is putting up an amazing season. Davis leads the team in points, rebounds and blocks. He is averaging 24.9 points, 12.2 rebounds (third in the league) and an impressive 2.5 blocks per game.
The team went 6-1 in their last 7 games heading into the break and are looking to build upon that momentum. As of now, the Laker's 30-26 record puts them in a spot for the play-in tournament.
This team found themselves in a similar situation last season but were still able to make a deep playoff run. Unfortunately, that run ended in the Western Conference Finals. With some added talent to the roster, the Lakers are looking to improve on the outcome of last season.
With the ability they showed in the in season tournament and the outcome last season, can James, Davis, and the rest of this Lakers team turn things around from their shaky first half of the season?