The Los Angeles Lakers are winless through their opening four matches to open the 2022/23 NBA season - and their problems show no sign of ending anytime soon.
For the first time since his rookie season 20 years ago, LeBron James is 0-4 to start the new year. The Lakers lost 49 games and finished 11th in the Western Conference last season, while the team failed to bring in any meaningful offseason additions - so perhaps this mess could have predicted.
In fact, many believed the team could have improved via addition-by-subtraction in trading away Russell Westbrook. The first season of the experiment placing the guard alongside James and Anthony Davis went about as bad as it possibly could have done, but the organisation failed to move him and his $47million (£40.6m) salary away.
Westbrook has struggled since arriving in Los Angeles from Washington, and he has become something of a scapegoat for the team’s poor play. He does deserve some blame, particularly through these opening three games; the former MVP has averaged 10.3 points on 28.9% efficiency as well as a horrendous 8.3% from deep.
Note how Westbrook has played just three matches. He was dropped by rookie head coach Devin Ham for the defeat to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, with the decision coming after the 33-year-old wasted possession by missing a wide open jump shot as time ticked down and the Lakers leading over the Portland Trail Blazers. Portland ended up securing the win and many blamed Westbrook’s poor shot selection for the defeat.
While Westbrook undoubtedly deserves criticism for his play, the Lakers are frankly dysfunctional as an organisation. They decided to not only keep the guard but pair him with his enemy Patrick Beverley, a remarkable decision given both men have publicly mocked one another’s achievements in the game.
Beverley also spectacularly flopped in the closing seconds against Portland, which was overturned by referees to grant possession back to the Trail Blazers. Damian Lillard stepped up to drain a three and give his team a 104-102 lead.
On top of that, the Lakers also re-signed Dennis Schroder. The German is a solid player but his acquisition should have been questioned given he has struggled to find work in the NBA since he was let go by the Lakers in 2021, where he said: “I don’t think I fit in 100%.”
The Lakers didn’t have a first-round draft pick in June as they traded a decade’s worth of picks for Davis, who admittedly was key in their 2020 championship win but now struggles to stay healthy. The 29-year-old even appeared to injure his back while swinging on the rim following a dunk against the Nuggets.
Without picks to retool around Davis and James - whose extension will take him through his 40th birthday - the Lakers could only turn to Beverley and Lonnie Walker IV in free agency. Walker was let go by the rebuilding San Antonio Spurs, which perhaps tells you all you need to know about Los Angeles and their roster construction.
James’ final years may not provide the Hollywood ending he perhaps envisioned. He hit out at teammates, suggesting the roster is not ‘constructed of great shooting’ - which is putting it lightly.
Do you think the Lakers can turn it around and make the playoffs? Let us know in the comments section.
Shooting is a prerequisite to successful team-building in the modern NBA, especially when your offence runs through one of the greatest passers in league history in James. However, the Lakers are shooting a league-worst 21.2% from beyond the arc this season, with Beverley, Walker, Westbrook and Kendrick Nunn all struggling.
In fact, only Austin Reaves - who is seventh on the team in minutes - is shooting better than James from three-point range, and even that is at 4-for-10 on the year.
The Lakers offence is stagnant. James’ new two-year extension expires in the summer of 2024, and despite his insanely high level of play, there's no guarantee he will see this Lakers team as the right place for his career's twilight years.
After suffering the 110-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, James - who has averaged 25.3 points per contest - admitted he needed to be more aggressive when the Lakers next play on Friday, against the Minnesota Timberwolves. While that may be true, it remains to be seen how far up ‘aggression’ is on the ever-growing list of problems the Lakers need to solve.
Ultimately, the Lakers need far more than ‘aggression’ if they’re going to be anything more than a lottery team in 2022/23.
