Owning a 17-18 record after beating the Houston Rockets on December 28th, the Los Angeles Lakers have underwhelmed this season.
The Lakers entered the 2021-22 regular season as the consensus favorites to come out the West. Sidelines NBA odds show how this has changed, with the Warriors, Suns and Jazz all at shorter prices. Most bookies tab the Lakers as sixth favorites for the title.
Seismic roster turnover has caused problems. Their defense-first identity under Frank Vogel has been undermined. Key rotation players have missed time, and Anthony Davis is out for a prolonged period with a knee issue. Covid has caused its own difficulties too, but those circumstances are not unique to the Lakers as Omicron wreaks havoc across the NBA.
Los Angeles is 24th in adjusted net rating. They are one of the worst half court offenses in the league, and their defense in the halfcourt ranks 15th by points per possession.
The good news comes from the LeBron James minutes. When the four-time MVP is on the court, the Lakers’ offense has a rating of just over 111, which would rank 5th in the league. The defense, though, is still bottom 10.
Big-name offseason acquisition Russell Westbrook has put up some numbers. The team has a net rating of -3.3 in his minutes, however, and only James Harden is turning the ball over more per game.
Wing signings Wayne Ellington and Kent Bazemore are shooting below their career marks from three, and Talen Horton-Tucker is struggling from everywhere.
The Lakers’ poor numbers are not bad luck or small sample noise either. Only eight teams have worse shot quality on offense, and they rank in the bottom half on defense by the same metric.
Lakers Playoff Chances
What we’ve seen from the Los Angeles Lakers thus far paints them as no more than a Play-In team. Perhaps they can snatch fifth or sixth if LeBron stays healthy and Davis returns relatively soon.
It’s still an ill-fitting roster even with James and Davis, though. Their 2027 first-round pick and Horton-Tucker are their only meaningful trade assets, and Rob Pelinka ideally needs to add a couple of pieces at the trade deadline.
Frank Vogel needs some consistency in his roster. That’s a lot to ask in a Covid-disrupted season, but the Lakers’ rotations have been particularly erratic with so many players missing time. It will be interesting to see how this team looks if they can get the top eight available together for a couple of weeks.
At least one proper three-and-d player is a must before the trade deadline. Ironically, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope would be a great fit next to Davis, James and Westbrook.
This iteration of the Lakers isn’t going past the second round, despite their stellar roster. That might even be too big an ask if they have to go through the Play-In and face the Suns or Warriors in the first round.