The Los Angeles Lakers were demolished by the Philadelphia 76ers, 138-94, in Philadelphia on Monday night. For the first time in 13 years, LeBron James failed to grab a rebound in a game. The 44-point loss also marks the worst defeat in his legendary career. Does the manner in which the Lakers lost spell trouble?
“What needs to change in order for that not to happen again? Um, a lot,” James said.
Better Start Than Last Season
The Lakers are 10-8, considerably better than they were through 18 games last season, where they were under .500.
Despite failing to grab a rebound, Bron is still playing elite-level basketball. He is averaging 25 points, seven rebounds, and six assists per game on 56/39/68 shooting splits. He is eighth in the league in EPM at +5.8.
However, the rest of the team is not playing up to their potential. Bron and Anthony Davis are the only plus players in the starting lineup. And Davis is not playing to his potential every night. He’ll play two or three good games in a row and then disappear.
Davis’ midrange and three-point shooting have not been good. When the Lakers won the title in 2020, his shot was much better and a weapon he could deploy.
The Lakers are 22nd in aNET rating, 17th in aORTG and 15th in aDRTG.
Supporting Cast Needs To Play Better
Starting guard D’Angelo Russell is still a one-way player, borderline elite offensively and at times unplayable defensively.
Austin Reaves, who signed a four year $53 million contract in the offseason, is finding out what life is like when he’s on a team’s scouting report. He can no longer sneak up on teams, unfamiliar with his skill set.
Last season, Reaves shot 74% at the rim, 52% in the midrange and 39% from three. This season, through 18 games, 69/42/33. Teams are also hunting him a bit on defense and some warts are starting to show.
To be fair, the Lakers have dealt with injuries to Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt. That makes for two players who were figured to be key pieces in the rotation this year.
While the rest of the team finds its footing, Bron is shouldering a heavy load early in the season. There is always the fear that at his age, he is more susceptible to injury. If Bron misses significant amounts of time that is disaster for this team.
The other issue the Lakers have is coaching. Darvin Ham is only in his second year as a head coach, but hasn’t seemed to improve much since last season. Bron’s brilliance, and to a lesser extend Davis’, mask a lot of the issues on this team as it relates to rotations and player development.
It’s not panic time in Los Angeles, but there should be a mild level of concern.
