The Lakers Aren’t Championship Contenders

The Lakers score a league-worst 24.7 bench points per game. They also allow 36.9 opponent bench points per game, which is second best in the league, but the -12 point difference is problematic. 

For reference, the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets allow 35.6 bench points per game, the fewest in the league, but rank 21st with 33.8 bench points per game. And the third-seeded Spurs score 40.2 and allow 40.7 bench points per game. 

Like the Lakers, the Rockets rank in the bottom half of the league in bench points scored but are top two in bench points allowed, but their -2 point differential is far more sustainable than the Lakers’ -12. 

Relying so heavily on the starters, particularly an injury-prone Luka Doncic and an aging LeBron James, raises a critical question: Will the Lakers even be healthy enough to compete come playoff time? 

Shaky Defense

The Lakers beat the Jazz in an all-out slugfest, but a 143-135 regulation victory against the Lauri Markkanen-less, 10-16 Jazz is nothing to be proud of.

This game isn’t an outlier. The Lakers rank 22nd in defensive rating and 20th in points allowed per game. The Rockets rank fifth and third, respectively. Finally, the Spurs rank seventh and eighth, respectively. The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder rank first in both categories.

The Lakers struggle most in guarding the three-point line transition offense. They rank 29th in opponent three-point percentage, 25th in opponent points off turnovers, and 19th in opponent fastbreak points.

In other words, the Lakers don’t close out to shooters and don’t run back on defense, especially after a turnover. 

The Lakers have offensive firepower in Doncic, Reaves, and James, but they do not put in enough defensive effort to stack up with other playoff competitors.

Inconsistent Shooting

Teams don’t need to shoot threes at a high volume to win, but they do need to make the ones they do take. The Lakers don’t do either particularly well. 

They rank 23rd in three-point attempts per game and 18th in three-point percentage. The Rockets are ranked dead last in threes attempted, but they are third in three-point percentage. The Spurs ranked 17th in threes attempted but are ninth in three-point percentage.

All three teams don’t shoot many threes, but where the Rockets and Spurs differ from the Lakers is their efficiency. If the Lakers want to be successful with this style of play, they need to make their few three-point attempts count.

With the trade deadline less than two months away, the Lakers should make moves to address their depth, defense, and shooting. Otherwise, they’re wasting two of the most dominant players in NBA history, as well as a plethora of promising young players.