The Lakers are a pretty good team this season: 10-8 record, eighth in the Western Conference and they have clinched a spot in the final eight of the In Season Tournament. Their -1.9 net rating is 21st in the NBA.
Pretty good is not nearly good enough for LeBron James, nor does it meet the expectations of Lakers fans who saw their team make a run to the Western Conference Finals a season ago and expected the team to build off that. Things hit a new low Monday night when the Lakers got blown out by 44 points in Philadelphia (the worst loss of LeBron’s career). These Lakers look more like a play-in team than a contender. After the game, LeBron was asked if tweaks were needed to get this team right (answer via Dave McMenamin of ESPN).
“What needs to change in order for that not to happen again? Um, a lot,” James said.
Asked if there was anything in particular L.A. needed to focus on, he repeated: “No. A lot.”
The Lakers’ Austin Reaves was much more blunt: “They beat the s*** out of us.”
"How many times have you watched this?"
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) November 28, 2023
Yes. pic.twitter.com/W3h6nWxW30
Before the season we knew there was no margin for error for the Lakers and a few things needed to go right for them to be a threat in the West. LeBron has held up his part of that bargain, continuing to play at an All-NBA level as he approaches turning 39 later this month — Monday night he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to play the most minutes in NBA history (playoffs and regular season combined).
The Lakers needed Anthony Davis to step up and be the best player on the court every night, to take over the mantle of the star the Lakers are built around. While Davis has had a strong defensive season, he’s been good but inconsistent on offense, and has gone away from his jump shot — he has taken 24.4% of his shots from beyond 10 feet this season and is shooting 17.6% on midrange shots (outside the paint but inside the arc) and 30% on 3s.
Then there is the fact the Lakers needed to stay healthy but have not been able to. The Lakers added depth this summer but on Monday night Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish and Gabe Vincent were all out. Without them, the Lakers lacked the physicality and defense they needed against the 76ers.
The Lakers may look to make a bold move closer to the trade deadline — trading for Zach LaVine would be bold, but is adding another guy who needs the ball in his hands but doesn’t defend and is expensive the answer? — or maybe they bank on internal improvement. Either way, Lebron is right, a lot needs to be done if this team is going to reach the heights of last postseason again.
