It should be noted, at the top, that few people thought the Lakers would win many games. In my season preview I wrote the following:
I think this team tops out at 38 wins and that’s with everything going right. When was the last time any NBA team had everything go right? When was the last time the Lakers did? That said, if this team wins over 30 games, they will simultaneously improve on last season’s win total by 10 wins and beat their over for Las Vegas.
A 10 win improvement on the 21-win dumpster fire that was last season might seem too optimistic right now. That’s where we are after the Lakers lost 120-109 to a Nuggets team missing one of their better wing scorers and their entire rotation of Centers.
The main issue remains defense. After the Nuggets game the Lakers are now ranked last in defensive efficiency, allowing 113.0 points per 100 possessions. That number would be 3.4 points/100 possessions worse than last season’s last-place Wolves. It would be the worst mark of at least the last 15 seasons (I can only go back 15 years in the database I am searching).
Of course we’re only talking four games, not an entire season. But the fact that we’re having this discussion at all is not promising.
The Lakers simply do not defend well individually or as a team. Roy Hibbert can only be so much of an obstacle when players are attacking him full speed in space, taking shot attempts to his body with enough force they negate the effect of his “verticality”. What’s worse, the lapses of not helping the helper only increase the likelihood Hibbert’s help is wasted when his man comes to clean up the misses he does force.
So, the team is losing mostly because of their defense. This is established and, well, really not debatable. Going beyond these struggles, though, is where things start to get to the root of the frustrations surrounding the team.
For the 2nd time in four games, D’Angelo Russell sat down the stretch of the 4th quarter, this time in favor of Lou Williams. Williams has a knack for drawing fouls and that skill was on full display, earning him countless trips to the FT line while keeping the Lakers somewhat close on the scoreboard. The Lakers never overcame their deficit, however, and hindsight says, with the chase for a win unsuccessful, maybe those minutes could have been better used on the team’s promising rookie.
ESPN’s Baxter Holmes wrote about this well:
This season, the Lakers are trying to split their focus between developing their promising young core (Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle) and trying to remain competitive.
It’s an incredibly delicate balance, because young players will make mistakes and struggle, likely leading to losses, but those mistakes and that struggle is vital for them to learn and grow and become the players that might ultimately carry the franchise back to greatness. In essence, every moment matters.
“I’ve got to balance that — just knowing [Russell is] young,” Scott said. “And he’s going to have to experience that stuff as far as the fourth quarter when the game is on the line, because that’s the only way he’s going to really learn.”
If that is truly the case, then Russell should have been out there.
Instead, Russell rode the pine and was left to face a scrum of reporters in a lonely locker room, and his answers were far from encouraging, especially as Tuesday marked another fourth quarter that he spent on the bench, the second in four games.
What can he do to stay out there?
“I have no idea,” Russell said.
Is this frustrating?
“It’s something I’ve got to deal with,” Russell said.
Russell’s frustrations are easy to understand. While I’m not a #2 overall draft pick, I’m pretty sure my feelings about him wanting to get a bit more burn are mirrored by the player. The fact that he’s not getting those minutes — especially in losses — is tough to stomach.
As I wrote in my aforementioned season preview, executing this balancing act was always going to be the most difficult part of Byron Scott’s job. There are competing interests at play and he has to be savvy enough to manage it all in a way which may not even be possible.
The other part of this story is, of course, Scott wanting (needing?) to win some games. While the rhetoric surrounding his hire and his continued public support has been more than flattering, no one is naive enough to believe wins do not matter. Byron is coaching like someone chasing wins and, so far, he has not been successful. But the chase will continue.
The question is, will it continue with him fully investing into his young players with the minutes they crave? Will he make the hard decisions of sitting down veterans who are capable of closing out games? Will he — gasp — even sit Kobe one night if it is determined Lou Williams (or Nick Young) are playing well down the stretch?
Maybe it’s a bad thing I think we already have the answers to these questions.
Dwight says
I liked the fact that Mudiay was on the floor in the 4th quarter — kudos to the Nuggets coach for trusting the kid. I think he’ll be the steal of the draft.
Why the Lakers FO won’t force Byron to take the training wheels off Russell is a mystery to me. Any one hoping for a miracle season from the Lakers should now be drinking a cup of reality: the team is not going anywhere this year — no reason not to play the kids.
Russell to me looks just like a ‘guy’ not a star. Far too tentative, far too deferential and not showing any leadership qualities. I think it was telling that BS put Clarkson on Mudiay defensively and not Russell. What are you protecting him from?
I’d look to trade Williams in early December, when recently signed free agents can be moved. He’s too much of a security blanket for BS. Russell and Clarkson need to be on the floor together every 4th quarter.
tankyou says
Perhaps the FO is just irrationally optimistic about the teams they put on the floor. Perhaps they really think Bass/Hibbert/Williams was going to move the needle. IF so then they apparently can’t determine defensive talent very well and don’t really calculate that into their formula for what it takes to win.
As noted in the article, help defense is seriously lacking, to go along with poor 1×1 defensive prowess. Last year we didn’t have much on defense either, but we had guys that helped each other and attempted to rotate around a bit even if they weren’t any better individually than this years squad.
I really think I was irrationally optimistic when I said 30 wins, with a top around 35 wins. After really watching them play, 30 wins seems like it would be pretty amazing. Basically we have to out offense the other teams and shoot lights out to win games. But this is challenging given we having an aged superstar, and non-shooters and limited 3 point shooting ability.
Maybe after 20 games the Coach and FO will get it, they aren’t going to win hardly at all and then they will just play Russell a lot. Let’s hope the win chasing doesn’t go the whole way through December and they just play the rooks a lot.
I have to say I’m pretty nervous about how much our Defense is going to give up this year–given our schedule has been a joke thus far. Perhaps the scores won’t get too bad since we will play against the 2nd and 3rd stringers of the other time quite a bit in the 4th quarters this year.
Anonymous says
What are our three free agent acquisitions doing?:
– Hibbert is averaging 23 MPG, 8 PPG and 6.3 RPG (not good value for $15.6 mil) .
– Bass is averaging 19 MPG, 5.5 PPG and 5.3 RPG (but he plays the same position as Randle)
– Williams is averaging 28 MPG, 16.5 PPG and 2.3 APG (but he’s shooting 38% overall and 22% from Three, plus he’s taking 4th quarter minutes from Clarkson and Russell).
Anonymous says
I think the reality is that Kobe is done. He’s playing at a replacement player level and its likely he won’t improve much over the course of the season. That’s not a knock on his career or his immense contributions to the Lakers. It’s a statement about a 37 year old player with over 46,000 minutes on his body, coming off of three straight season ending injuries. Father Time has finally caught up with him.
If the FO was banking on Kobe to be the driving force of the team then they were deluding themselves (or blindly crossing their fingers and their toes). Absent the not forthcoming miracle from Kobe, the FO had to realize that this roster is comprised of three unproven kids and a bunch of average veterans.
Not much there to tout playoffs or 40 wins. Our record is not an aberration.
matt says
Btw our system and types of players is the reason why we can’t tell how good russell will be yet, he looks good but this system no off ball movement
tankyou says
I honestly don’t know why Tarik Black got so little playing time last season, and this season. I don’t remember him being injured. I saw him play before and he seems like a guy that goes all out for rebounds and defense. He is a bit undersized but I would guess he still can easily out rebound Hibbert and really isn’t much worse defensively, plus he is young. Why don’t we give him some time, rather than keep him glued to the bench. It’s not as if Hibbert/Bass give us much offense either and we have tons of wing gunners on this team that can pretty much take all the shots–Randle can take the rest.
Thanks for the update on the new acquisitions Anon, that is eye opening. So many young guys with a couple years under their belt can give that type of production for far less money and with the chance for them to actually be part of the future rather than just more short term rentals.
Mark Sigal says
One observation about the mess that this the Lakers right now is that basketball, more than any other sport, is about the alpha leader, and pecking orders.
What is the pecking order on the Lakers? Who eats first, and who sets the bar on both sides of the ball?
The sad truth is that because Kobe is such a shell of himself, he can not be considered the leader in any way, shape or form, yet he’s still KOBE.
Until this truth is resolved, be it by Kobe, Scott, the FO or injury, it’s hard to see the Lakers finding a baseline from which to build.
This upcoming roadie will be an “interesting” study.
Hebisner says
I can help but think given the age of Randle, Russel, Clarkson, etc, and the fact they are still learning to play together in the NBA that even 20 games isn’t enough to really develop enough team cohesion and chemistry to win against a team of mostly NBA veterans. Minnesota is most like them and that game they almost won. If they are like this at game 30 with minimal improvement, then yeah lets panic. But they do improve every game. They played well at times last night.
matt says
Ok if your orlando, im the lakers, i want aaron gordon, you can have anyone except clarkson, randle, and russell
KevTheBold says
I’m really left scratching my head as to why Scott, who is said to be the mentor behind some of the league’s top point guards, is handling perhaps his greatest prodegy, so poorly.
I can see each game, a deeper degree of doubt and loss of confidence in D’Angelo’s demeanor, which is reflecting in his game.
This of course is encouraging all those doubters and haters, who having done little to no research into who D’Angelo is and what he’s capable of, into believing that their fickle or ignorant prejudgments are actually valid.
Thereby they are adding additional tons, to the already staggering weight on his 19 year old shoulders.
I truly hope that he suffers no permanent damage from this pressure, and that the front office will take matters into hand with full comprehension of his value over Scott.
Anonymous says
Ok if your orlando, im the lakers, i want aaron gordon, you can have anyone except clarkson, randle, and russell
__
At the risk of getting in trouble for trade speculation, here is my response:
1. I don’t believe they would want to move him. He’s on a rookie deal and has a chance to far exceed his salary in terms of value on the court. You don’t trade those guys.
2. If they were interested, then they’d probably want a future 1st round pick plus Nance. And we don’t have a future 1st round pick to trade until 2019 at the earliest. So, no deal.
Nik Kannan says
This team isn’t going to win 30 games with Byron at the helm. His rotations are so poor. For example against Dallas the other day 2 minutes to go in the 3rd, after D. Russ hits 2 threes & Julius is creating havoc… momentum on our side cutting the lead to 8 …. Subs – Ryan Kelly Gets dominated, turnovers, & Nick Young & Lou just lauching with no real rhythm on offense – lead back up to 16 by the end of the quarter. Byron sorry buddy – time for us to part ways with you. I always love my Lakers Brethern, & for that sake I am not upset, but this is a calamity – we need to go in a different direction at head coach – Jimbo the countdown was already underway, the clock just moved forward quite a bit. Unless something changes fast, we are the 2nd worst team in the league, on paper & in results.
Anonymous says
I think Byron needs to think very realistically about what he hopes to accomplish this year. Making the playoffs is likely not realistic, given where we ended last season and the ‘talent’ acquired this offseason. So, in my mind, the only rational place left here is to make a serious effort to strengthen our young players via minutes/exposure. The press and fans will be kinder to Byron if he’s losing but giving our young’s lots of minutes – otherwise, he may as well quit now and save what little coaching career he has left.
matt says
I’m wondering if d’antoni was not the problem, maybe the management only thinking of offense when they assemble a team is the problem
rr says
I’m really left scratching my head as to why Scott, who is said to be the mentor behind some of the league’s top point guards, is handling perhaps his greatest prodegy, so poorly.
—
When the Lakers signed Lou Williams, I made a list of plusses and minuses of the signing, and concluded with the statement that I probably would not have done it. So:
1. The FO spent 21M on the reigning 6MoY
2. The guy Byron answers to made a public statement to the effect that he expects a playoff contender.
3. The guy above that guy is on a timeline to contend and publicly asked for more time to meet it since he is behind schedule.
4. Byron has one year on his deal guaranteed after this one.
Signing Williams would have made more sense if the Lakers had drafted Okafor. Get the NBA-ready big and get a veteran combo guard who can fill it up in case Kobe is at the end of the line and to deal with Young’s inevitable bad games.
I don’t think that Scott is an especially good coach, and I would not have hired him. But a lot of the stuff that he does with player usage that upsets people is connected to roster construction–this is true of BB, KB, Young, and Williams.
Also, I pointed out in preseason that SI.com pointed out that Denver has a nice se-up for developing Mudiay. They dumped Lawson, no one is expecting a playoff run, they have a first-year coach people like, and they have enough talent to probably avoid long, demoralizing losing streaks. The Lakers OTOH have Kobe, Young, and Williams and a second-year retread coach who is under pressure and is an internet punching bag.
bluehill says
This road trip will be another measure of where we stand because the Nets are win less and the Knicks and Magic are 1-3. One back-to-back may be an opportunity for DLo to get more minutes.
matt says
I would have liked to see coach scott match up better, like against sac, hibbert on cousins, black on Cauley-stein, randle on gay, I’m saying this don’t gotta be your starting unit but when you start getting destroyed it might be an option,, against denver if you’re the coach can’t you see they are playing small down low and we’re getting burned as hibbert is getting tired. I do think the blowout in Sacramento could have allowed for him to at least try randell at small forward
Baylor Fan says
This is what rebuilding with young players looks like. Lots of hero ball and matador defense. Throw in a few veterans who do know how to play and are worried about their own careers and things look a little crazy. Clarkson seems to be improving in spite of being nailed to the bench for much of last season. Russel will be okay even though it seems like he could be playing more. Kobe’s legs (knees) are in worse shape than expected coming into the season. However, he may need a couple of weeks to really tell if the magic treatments have stopped working for him. Even with all these problems, the defense is so bad that any improvement at all will make some games interesting.
Robert says
Kobe: He is not playing well thus far – that is obvious. What is amazing to me is that some actually thought he was going to play a completely different style this year. He has played the same way for 20 years. Yes – he will have games where he facilitates and gets 10 dimes, but for the most part Kobe will be Kobe. Ask Phil. Ask Shaq. Ask the guy who writes the Kobe Alert – they will all say the same thing. The guy has one gear and one way to play. If the FO was planning on different then add that to the list.
BCS: I never protest when people are critical of anything. You can criticize Kobe – he deserves some of it. I was against the extension (and so was rr), I spoke about mutually agreeing to amnesty Kobe a few years back. We did not so I root for him. However if you bring up the Spurs and root for Tim Duncan, I will respond. I hate the Spurs (evidently I have not said this enough for those who think I am redundant).
Hibbert/Williams: We spent a great deal of money on these guys and even gave up a pick for the Hibbert salary dump. I was against both of these when they occurred and now it is becoming apparent why. The Nuggets were depleted of big men and Hibbert did very little. Williams on the other hand can’t be accused of doing little, but having him on the roster at the same time as Young (as well as Kobe), is nothing short of ridiculous.
Byron: Similar to Kobe, Byron has not changed during his entire coaching career. Not sure why anyone is surprised
Team: So we are even worse than I thought we would be so far. For those who thought Kobe was going to play Magic style, Byron was going to become an intellectual x’s and o’s guy, and our youngsters were going to gel instantly, well – I guess you know now that none of that is going to happen.
sam says
Dwight in my mind is generally spot on
not sure I would call mudiay the steal of the draft — he cant shoot and is a turnover machine but he is really talented and Denver is letting him play, make oodles of mistakes and not worry about it and will watch him grow
I’m not sure about Russell but what I know is he is playing tentative and like he is afraid to make mistakes — we invested a number 2 pick in him — he has to be playing and in the 4th quarter — unacceptable that he is sitting out for lou williams — we stink — acknowledge it and see if the kids can develop – I really don’t care how many free throws lou Williams makes and against dallas when rusell had what I thought was his best 5 minute stretch of the season he came out because that is what byrons rotation called for — terrible coaching —
soory everyone I adored the showtime lakers but B Scott is an awful coach — the offense is stagnant and ill organized relying on one on one and lots of forced threes — the defense is a disgrace — its not all on the players sorry
sam says
just awful — bad play, horrible coaching, no direction and on and on — I don’t care if its only 4 games
we spent a number 2 pick on Russell — let him play like Denver plays Mudiay and let him stop worrying about making mistakes and coming out and for crying out loud let him play in the 4th quarter -I’m not a believer in the you learn from watching on the bench school of thought – you learn from playing and grow from making mistakes — we are competing for nothing — we stink — so let the kids grow
Chearn says
Take heart, the Lakers have the same record as the New Orleans Pelicans and many pundits projected them as 7th seed in the playoffs.
Pelicans with Anthony Davis 0-4.
Lakers with Kobe Bryant 0-4.
Fern says
I was hoping for 30-35 wins too, but right now? Doubtful and really disappointing, Randle and Clarkson are the only players that are performing, everybody else? Abysmal to say the least, about Russell not playing the 4th quarter, sorry but Lou was hustling his way to 24 points taking advantage of how incredibly dumb the Nuggets were, you have to ride the hot hand, and as as much faith i have on DAR he haven’t done anything to earn those crunch time minutes, oh but he may or might not be dating a Kardashian already, after the game Isaiah Thomas, who i despise as an executive, coach and a human being but was one hell of a PG nail it in the head, being a former number 2 pick himself, DAR needs to take the bull by the horns and TAKE IT, “a second rounder playing better than me? A bench player taking my minutes? NO WAY, i show them” say what you will about Zeke but as a player he was hungry and tough as nails, this kid needs to show everybody that he can, take those minutes from Williams, Nick Young and whoever else, like Isaiah also said “this is LA baby you have to deliver” Welcome to the Jungle…
Chearn says
Right on target, Fern!
Anonymous says
Chearn — I like the Pelicans chances with Anthony Davis over the Lakers with Kobe.
Anthony parris says
H
Clay Bertrand says
Chearn, Love and appreciate that you are trying to cheer us up some. But the Pels are 0-4 because they’ve played Golden State TWICE (in 4 games)!!!! I will admit losses to Portland and Orlando are a bit unexpected though……..
December 1st will be our FIRST or SECOND win as we will be playing Philly. Philly REALLY REALLY sucks. And YES, this is the Midget calling the Dwarf SHORT.
This means that late in the evening on December 1, our record will be 1-16 or 2-15. (No Joke/Snarkiness–Check the schedule)
But don’t worry!!!! We also play Philly again AT STAPLES on January 1st!!!!
That means we will have ONE WIN in 2015, and ONE WIN in 2016.
Great because we don’t need to be HOARDING wins and being greedy anyway right???
***LONGSHOT WIN POSSIBILITIES against Portland with 2 games against them Thanksgiving week.
“….the horror…….the horror…”
KO says
Watching Knicks Clev. Knicks seem to rebuid in one year. Lakers on year 3. Sasha look better the both Laker PG. Porzingis looks way better then Russell.
Looks like Phil again laughing at Jimmy boy.
Kbj says
I agree with Fern. He’s not playing well right now and the only reason he’s starting is because Huertas isn’t much better. Scott shouldn’t just play him in the 4th without him earning it.
As far as I know, Lakers are not tanking. If Scott thought playing Lou gave the Lakers the best chance to win, then why should he play Russell? Russell needs to earn those minutes. So far, he hasn’t.
Fern says
C’mon Ko the Knicks have been awful for the best part of the last 20 years if the Lakers were in the East they could be 2-2 also so meh, they in perpetual rebuilding mode, the Cavs were awful before Lebron after he left went back to being awful again and it took Lebron coming back to get them back to contention, if Lebron stayed in Miami they would had been back in the lottery blowing another pick. There is no comparison, we are late on this rebuilding thing, i takensolace on the fact that of our 3 priced youngsters two are on their way, the other one is still too green. The Cavs were lucky and the Knicks are still the Knicks, too early to be freaking out already, or it might be good to your soul :/
bluehill says
Watching the Knicks game. Fish made an interesting comment about the team needing to focus on defense first because the offense will come and go. I understand his perspective, but I’ve hoped that Byron could get the offense running more smoothly and then worry about defense. Given the results so far, maybe it should be the other way.
I don’t know bball strategy beyond the armchair level so for people with more knowledge, if you were to take over as coach of the Lakers right now and with this roster (no trades), what adjustments would you make? Also what do you think would be an appropriate set of metrics to measure your progress for the rest of the year?
Chearn says
Anonymous, I too favor the Pelicans over the Lakers this season. It still does not negate the fact that the rising star has the identical record of a downward trajectory veteran on a team full of 1st and 2nd-year players: Both of the teams are 0-4.
Oldtimer says
In reply to Mark Sigal, I think the new pecking order is Clarkson in as much he is the remaining best veteran on the floor. Therefore, Clarkson has to assemble his team that will carry the Lakers in the next generation. Right now, I see Randle as his side kick. It will take sometime for Russell to catch up or maybe just another victim among newbies and we still have to see how Nance and Brown cope with NBA standards. Among veterans, there is no way you can remove Lou and the remaining 7 footer Center, Hibbert or else Lakers will be completely a toast. Don’t worry on Kobe, he will eventually find his groove and he knows it that’s why he’s so frustrated with his game. Therefore, my prescription to Byron concentrate all the energies on the producers and put up a defense committee on the rest. It sounds crazy but that is the make up of this team, the only working parts are clarkson, randle and williams.
KO says
Fern
Lakers just lost to 4 non-playoff teams. 3 were at home. They may not win this month. I would be shocked if they best Knicks this weekend. They are 30th in NBA in defense and have yet to play a top 20 team. I don’t think you realize how bad they are. 22 of next 26 are on the road.
Clarkson and Randall. Thats it.
Fern says
I know how bad they are, i just dont freak out about it, it is what it is, is a long season a lot is going to happen in the next 78 games. I’m not giving up on this team in the 1st week of November, even if the team lose a ton of games Ckarkson and Randle are putting the league on notice they are for real, if DAR gets it togheter i be happy about that, thats the future, won’t dwell on negatives…
Mid-Wilshire says
bluehill,
You ask an excellent set of questions, namely 1) what adjustments should be made at this point and 2) what set of metrics should the Lakers focus on to measure their progress over the year?
I’ll try to address the 2nd question first (Steven Covey, “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” says that it’s always wise to start with the end in mind).
First of all, I would attempt to limit the points in the paint. The Lakers are getting scorched in the paint, both off the pick and roll (see: Denver) and by getting beaten off the dribble (see: Sacramento and everyone else). When the Lakers gave up 80 pts. in the paint the other night, that was the highest number of points allowed in the paint in 20 years in the NBA. Word spreads fast. That is obviously a major red flag and, IMO, probably the highest priority on this team right now. A good metric: no more than 30 points in the paint per game and preferably less.
Secondly, I would play Tarik Black as much as possible (26-28 minutes per game) at either the 4 or the 5. The reason? To help with rebounding. The Lakers are getting consistently beaten on the glass every night. The old dictum, “No rebounds, no rings,” isn’t some tired old bromide. It is an inviolable truth in basketball. The Lakers are losing that battle every night. That must be fixed.
Third, I believe that the Lakers must narrow the discrepancy between their own assists and their opponents’ assists. Against the Nuggets, the Lakers were out-assisted 30-18. That delta is almost unheard-of. It would be the equivalent of running a business and competing with another company that has 10 sales reps while you only have 5. They’re going to make more sales calls and, in all likelihood, more sales. Well, the other teams don’t have more players but they are making more passes. Having more assists, then, is going to be inevitable. So…the Lakers have got to pass the ball more. They must adopt a new mantra: no one shoots until at least 3 passes have been made, if not more. These habits can be drilled into a team during practice so that they become routine during games. (See: San Antonio, Golden State, Atlanta, others).
Those are the major adjustments I would promote: 1) Clog the lane and defend the paint and stay in front of your defender on the perimeter to keep them from getting to the rim; 2) Rebound better (utilizing players like Tarik Black); and 3) pass the ball more crisply and effectively to increase our number of assists.
Think of it this way, if the Lakers had eliminated 6-7 shots at the basket by Faried and Hickson and if they had grabbed 4-5 more rebounds (and kept Faried off the glass better) and if they had finished with 24 assists rather than 18, they would have won. It’s not complex.
Those “little” things matter. I would think that they’re working on them. At least, I would hope so.
T. Rogers says
I’m all for Russell earning his spot. I just wonder why the #2 pick in he draft has to earn his spot on previously 21 win team. This isn’t Kobe joining a 50+ win team in 1996 that already had an all star shooting guard. This is a team that has failed to net even one impact free agent over the last three years. This is a team with back to back seasons where they failed to win even 30 games. And they will probably fail to do it this season as well. But Russell needs wait his turn? He needs to prove to Byron he’s ready? That doesn’t add up.
bluehill says
Interesting theory about why Kobe’s shot is off.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/3rjr7t/i_think_i_know_why_kobe_is_shooting_so_bad/
rr says
It may be as noted by me and others that Williams was signed as a trade chip. Ease Russell in then cash Williams in.
Alan says
Russell was a Horrible pick over okafur and byron is a coach for the dark ages. We’d be better off letting the guys simply go out and play street ball as a system with no coach. It’s sad to see the Lakers so clueless
Kbj says
@T. Rogers
Russell already has his spot as starter. He just has to earn the right to play more than 24 minutes and finish games. So far, Russell is not good enough to warrant more minutes. His stat line: 9 pts (34% fg, 24%3pt) with 3 assists and 1.6 turnovers.
I see your point. If the Lakers lose, they might as well play the players that will actually be key pieces in the Lakers future. However, for a team that still wants to win, Russell is not a better option than Lou Williams right now.
bluehill says
Mid-wilshire – great insight! I didn’t realize how bad/lopsided those metrics were. Hope Byron is lurking here!
steve0319 says
Fern, agree that Russeell needs to suck it up and show continued improvement. His style of play is way too casual, and that seems like all his body will allow at this point. He really needs to work on his quickness and strength. Reports, please ask him why he doesn’t go deeper into paint off high P/R. Is he afraid of contact? I want to hear from his mouth.
bluehill, thanks for that link on Kobe’s shooting woes. Amazing the amount of insight out there only if one looks for it. Knowing Kobe, I do believe he’s tinkering with the shot. Pending good health, I expect to see Kobe play much better soon. I also saw his focus on playmaking more in the Denver game which is a good sign.
Unless Kelly is shooting 3s at high %, it doesn’t offset his defensive deficiency. I’d like to see Kelly/Bass experiment replaced with Nance Jr., Brown, Black. Things can’t get much worse with that, so I don’t buy the winning vs. development argument.
Is it really important to have Sacre as the 15th guy vs. Upshaw? What value does he add now? At least Upshaw has a demonstrable skill (length, shot blocking) that can be used in situations. They can sign Upshaw and still give floor time in D-league.
Darius, great job filtering the comments. I don’t see any bonehead comments that usually litter sports articles. Really enjoy reading most of comments here.
BigCitySid says
– For those thinking we have a good chance of keeping our “top 3” protected draft pick, slow down. Lakers look like garbage right now, however they simply have more talent than both Philly and Brooklyn and will easily win more games then either of them. That only leaves one spot available if that’s what you’re putting your hopes on.
– Only Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams (by a mere 30 seconds) are average more mpg than Kobe’s 28 (same as Randle). Technically, that could be considered a “minutes restriction” based on his history. However everyone on the Lakers appear to be on “restriction” since leader Clarkson is only averaging 31.3 mpg. Russell is only averaging 24.3 mpg. Obviously kid needs more minutes.
– As per Basketball-Ref, Russell, the # 2 draft pick, is tied for 6th place among rookies in mintues played per game w/ Miami’s Justice Winslow. Both the Wolves & 76ers have TWO rookies averaging more mpg than DAR.
http://bkref.com/tiny/cJ00P
-Up next: the Nets, I’m expecting the Lakers to get their 1st win of the season. No way they go 0-5
tankyou says
@bigcitysid, You are a big time optimist. Nets certainly aren’t good but we aren’t more talented then they are, at least not in terms of established talent (we have a better future core though hopefully). They can still score on us at will so we may win but we could easily lose. The only team we seem to be slightly better than is the 76ers.
At this point I’m expecting a loss to the Nets, Lopez can easily score 30 on us with no problem. And the nets look like a better defensive team (held Hawks to 101 the other night) than us, so although we definitely have the offensive talent they do, we certainly have a punchers chance of getting our first win. But they have plenty of guys who defend better than us–in part just because they are far more experienced than us.
J C says
Hold on guys.
I just realized something.
It’s time for some ‘out of the box’ thinking.
We don’t need to change coaches!
We need to change LEAGUES.
See? All we need to do is change continents – so we can play that team from Israel that we whipped so handily.
In fact, let’s just play them every game!
Like the Globetrotters and the Washington Generals.
That’s what I call ‘feel-good’ hoops.
Byron never looked so good!
matt says
I say lakers players should go rogue and stop running byrons terrible offense
matt says
Respose to rr i hope williams is being groomed to trade, also ryan kelly, gotta just hope coach and management are working on a plan together, kupcheck is a sneaky guy
matt says
As for the nets they have legitimate small forward play and a faster center, these are mismatches our stubborn coach will not adjust to
Clay Bertrand says
Lou Williams Trade???
For everyone talking about Williams eventually being moved I offer this reasoning:
Using precious and vast cap space to sign decent players only to trade those players 4 months later for ACTUAL ASSETS (meaning Draft choices, young players, star players, and/or players with expiring deals) is tantamount to modern day Alchemy–Making Gold out of NON GOLD.
FIRST, IF this was doable, rebuilding would be SIMPLE!! No team is trading valuable assets for guys THEY COULD HAVE SIGNED THEMSELVES this past summer. NO/LIMITED Value would be coming back to us in such an exchange. You can’t flip players like houses because EVERY GM knows these players. You ain’t dealing with UNINFORMED BUYERS.
SECOND, we are capped out. We would HAVE TO take back equal money in contracts. So they would have to be expiring deals because no one is going to trade a desirable player on a good contract for Lou Williams.
THIRD, Nick Young’s contract is the most palatable for a contending team to digest especially when the cap rises. $5 Mil per season for a guy who can give you 12 pts off the bench and some decent 3pt shooting is a bargain. BUT YOU AIN’T GETTING MUCH IN RETURN FOR HIM!!!
***NOTE: I read a prediction that Nick Young would get moved at the deadline to a contender. Assuming he is playing well enough this could be Memphis, Milwaukee, Phx, Houston, Chicago, Miami (if Green flames out)….
T. Rogers says
RR,
What you say makes the most sense. I do wonder if the Lakers still have that kind of foresight.
Clay Bertrand says
Coaching Options — Someone posted another coaching possibility here recently: David Fizdale.
Interesting prospect. I went to school with David Fizdale and have wondered about his coaching roles. He could be an interesting option although I would think he’s be a Dark Horse candidate. Two former University of San Diego Torero players out of the last 4 Laker coaches (Mike Brown and Fizdale) would be rather surprising. I don’t know if I like the Head Coaches Fizdale has worked for.
While I’m lukewarm on Fizdale, I would add TYRONN LUE to the list of BS replacements when the time comes.
Former Laker, (not a requirement I’m just sayin,), former PG, worked player development for Boston, coaching experience under Doc Rivers and now David Blatt. I believe he is associate Head Coach with Cleveland….
Mid-Wilshire says
bluehill,
It’s my pleasure. As a rule of thumb, after a game I look at 3 sets of statistics: 1) the true shooting percentages of the two teams (FG% + FT%), 2) the comparative rebounds, and 3) the comparative assists. In my view, the team that wins 2 out of 3 usually wins the game.
I believe that the comparison of assists may be the most under-valued of these stats. If a team has 26 assists and their opponent has 19, then that indicates that they are playing better team ball. And in a team sport, obviously, that matters. Rebounding to me is the 2nd most important stat. The team that controls the boards and wins the assist battle is very difficult to beat.
With that in mind, one look at the key stats from the Denver game is very telling:
FG %
Denver — 50.6%
Lakers — 41.4%
Differential — 9.2% in favor of Denver
REBOUNDING
Denver — 49
Lakers — 41
Differential — 8 in favor of Denver
ASSISTS
Denver — 30
Lakers — 18
Differential — 12 in favor of Denver
Is it any surprise that we lost that game? There are other stats that are very important — turnovers, 3-pt.-shooting, foul shots. But True Shooting Efficiency (which actually includes both FGs and FTs), the Rebound comparison, and the Assist comparison usually tell the story.
The Lakers can improve in all 3 categories.
Of course it’s early in the season. We’ll see how things develop.
KevTheBold says
With regards to: ‘earning’ time to play, and the ‘two goal plan’.
So Scott is under pressure to:
1. Win as many games as he can, and: 2. Develop our youngsters?
What is his priority?
According to his interview yesterday, it’s “winning, as the kid’s can best learn in practice sessions.”
Why?
For yet another futile effort to attract a free agent?
To keep fans and media partners happy?
As tank pointed out, the FO is pulling the strings, and they have now turned their eyes from the rebuild, to winning.
This, we all know is not working out due to their crooked patch job of hiring a bunch of gunners, but only one flack jacket.
So where does that leave us and our new core?
Two of them, Randle and Clarkson, will be beaten against the walls in the front line, and casualties will flow.
While our number 2 pick, the likes of we have not been gifted with for decades, will be belittled as his confidence and best time to learn are squandered away.
In other words, we are wasting our future in a futile effort.
We won’t win now, and in trying to do so, we won’t win later.
Clay Bertrand says
KevTheBold,
Get those Keys to the car from Grandpa Byron ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He’s driving us off a freaking cliff!!!!!!!!!!!! He wants to WIN!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?! Now THAT is HILARIOUS.
We suck SO BAD that at this poiint, I’m ALL IN on rooting for the YOUNG GUYS ONLY and tanking the season again. Not because I’m Sam Hinkie…..but because WE ARE LOSING/GOING TO LOSE NEARLY ALL OF OUR GAMES ANYWAY!!!!!
Even TRYING our BEST to win will only amount to winning JUST ENOUGH to snuff out our possibility of retaining our Draft Pick.
Play D’Angelo Byron!!!!!!!
BTW, Did Byron EARN his contract??? Didn’t think so……..
tankyou says
First off let’s hope Russell is made of tougher stuff than being brow beaten by online fans. Also lots of good to great players didn’t walk into a win-fest right off the bat. Jordan’s bulls weren’t an amazing team right out the gate. Adversity doesn’t have to bread weakness, it most certainly can develop strength. IF Russell is like most really good to great players, then they have nearly irrational belief in their abilities, the next shot is going in–even if the last 10 didn’t type of mentality. Most of the skill guys that make it to the NBA are overconfident if anything. So I’m not worried about losing, or DAR trolling websites and having his confidenced bruised or somehow destroyed. Anyone that fragile won’t be a good player in the NBA anyway, they will just join the legions of overly anxious folks that aren’t very reslient and seek out negativity/drama.
Winning “now” will soon be a farse and then we can see how much time Russell gets. But to be fair the best situation would be just to trade Lou Williams to open up time, since its really not fair to Lou either to have a rookie who isn’t near as good as him playing more than him. That’s why I was a fan of keeping someone like Wayne Ellington around for a couple more years, a solid guy who can back-up either Clarkson/Russell without any drama. Building a team doesn’t always mean getting the best players–if there is no balance or complimentary type players on the roster. Thus we get a nearly all offense roster with nearly no defense to speak of. I played on a team in HS that lost nearly every game, it just made us angry and hungry, a few years later we won the county championship. Losing a ton doesn’t make everyone get used to losing, learned heplessness is not a trait everyone has–thank goodness. I think learning while not winning much is fine, it gives you a chance to make mistakes without them causing the Lakers to lose a playoff spot or something.
Anonymous says
No team can withstand the serious run of poor decisions that the Lakers have had these past four years.
– four picks, including this year’s #1, for a 38yr old Nash who is no longer on the team
– an unpaid 1st round pick for DHoward, who is also not on the team
– two year extension for Kobe while he was already injured
– allowing two hall of fame players (Howard and Pau) to leave for nothing
– playing for meaningless year end wins and sacrificing valuable draft positioning
– prioritizing free agency so that current rosters are a mishmash of talent/short term deals
– a coaching carousel of retreads, Brown, MDA and BS.
The Lakers have dug themselves one heck of a hole. Is it any wonder we are facing our third straight season of less than 30 wins.
Dwight says
I like Tyron Lue as a replacement but I don’t think he’d leave the Cavs now to come to the Lakers. If he stays, the odds are the Cavs win it all, and then he’d have his pick of gigs next summer.
I’d like to hear someone in the know tell us if the Lakers is an attractive job. In my mind its not. I don’t think Jim/Mitch are in a position to have realistic expectations for a new coach. The Lakers have the kids who need time (as in a few years) and not much else. Plus the chances of getting any help (draft/free agents/trades) this off-season is slim. So, next year will be as rough as this year.
If that is the case then Jeanie is going to look at doing some serious housecleaning. If, I’m the sitting coach and my Lakers tenure has a lot of L’s, then the new FO is gonna want their own guy. Until the FO situation is settled what coach of any merit would want this job?
Justin says
Odds of us keeping the pick our low. Even if we finish bottom 3 there is a great chance one to two teams jump up. Our best bet is to be the team that jumps up. But I think fans need to just accept that the greatest odds have us losing the pick. Being dead last would be the only chance we have of keeping the pick over 50% I believe. Remember our jump last year only had a 12% chance of happening. We did to develop the players this year and ignore next year. And we should seriously ask Philly if they would trade Okafor or Noel to remove out top 3 protection. Doubt they would, but it is the only way we are definitely coming away with something. Other than that we are gambling big time.
Clay Bertrand says
Dwight, ANY coaching replacement posts I make here are meant to refer to the EVENTUAL replacement of BS and not necessarily his immediate or even imminent dismissal. I agree with those who say the additional turmoil, negative reflection on the front office, and dollars not to mention lack of an IMMEDIATE option for the head coaching job (other than an in-house interim guy like Madsen or Rudy T.) make immediate dismissal a worse option than keeping BS in place.
This could change if the relationships here turn sour and/or the losses pile up too high with no visible development.
At any rate, the Lakers team situation when I envision the coaching change taking place will be MUCH CLEARER. There will be NO KOBE and the slate will be clean. Under the CLEAN SLATE WITH A COUPLE PROMISING YOUNG GUYS situation, the Laker job would be much more appealing ESPECIALLY to a first time young coach (like Lue for ex.).
I’m just sorta OVER talking about the CURRENT situation or any quick fixes. No quick fixes….No Magical turnaround….No FA Savior…….
The REAL rebuild will commence when the DEMOLITION is complete. When Kobe retires, the job will be to start ANEW…..FRESH…..FROM THE GROUND UP…..no Handcuffs on the NEW coach. HOPEFULLY…….
Chearn says
Russel is 19-years-old, and he perpetually wears a knee sleeve, and as someone noted he rarely maximizes that legs extension. His minute restrictions may have more to do with the frame of his body than with the coach making poor substitutions. Everyone complains that D’Angelo’s body looks pudgy, he’s slow of foot, his ability to dribble penetrate is suspect so why play him extended minutes early in the season only to wear him down and maybe cause him to suffer a major injury that could put him on the injured reserve list until mid-2016.
I thought the Lakers opted to use metrics this season to ascertain when a player gets fatigued, and when their on-court movements revealed a high probability of injury. Could that be the reason all of the players have limited minutes?
This team was constructed similarly to a summer high school traveling team by only acquiring players with resumes chock full of defensive inefficiencies. The Lakers merrily chose player after player with marginal skills in that area like Bass, Williams, and Hibbert. For questionable decisions, in certain neighborhoods they ask this rhetorical question, “Where they do that at?” Indeed, after Lakers fans decried the D’Antoni offensive debacle, one would surmise that an adjustment in roster construction would include defensive minded veterans. Unfortunately, Meta and Hibbert don’t count as both have fallen mightily from their positions as stalwart defenders. Defense more than any other skill in the game requires leg strength, the ability to remain in a defensive stance, slide laterally, and recover and rotate to the opposition for 24 seconds every single time for the game’s duration is mandatory.
To quote Jalen Rose, “If you can’t defend, you can’t win.” This squad is who they were constructed to be, and that’s a high-scoring unit.
J C says
I wonder if Luke Walton would even be interested next year when his assistant coach contract with the Warriors expires.
He’s part of a winning culture there.
For example, Steve Kerr may tell him he only plans to stay three or four more years or whatever. So Walton may be being groomed for the head coaching position there.
It may be tough to pass up the head coaching job for the Laker franchise, but Kerr passed up working for Phil in NY and that worked out pretty well. I have no doubt he’d have an opinion to share with Luke about gaining a few years experience as an assistant before jumping in as a head coach in a questionably-run franchise.
KevTheBold says
It’s the atmosphere which makes all the difference in the degrees of vision, or h20.
We as human beings create our own layers to wade through, and we are very good at it. It’s almost magical how thoughts and emotions are quickly spread, especially today in the cyber age.
Today a few powerful voices can change the world, so we easily alter the path of a player or franchise.
No tank, I don’t believe that players take to much stock into bulletin board opinions, however they are are totally vulnerable to their coaches and FO’s
who in turn are influenced by popular opinion.
Yes, losing can be an excellent motivator and teacher, yet in this case the Denver, and Philly model of, let them play with full support, in understanding that losing and making mistakes is essential to the process, is performing a smart rebuild.
Their rookies are gaining not only skill, but confidence.
While on the other side, our high draft pick is being leashed and lashed, and in a throwaway season.
Thanks Clay, I’m with you bro,.. it’s all about the Rookies, May they learn, gel, and stay healthy.
tankyou says
@Kevthebold, I’m with you then for sure. I want Russel to play more and learn and make mistakes now when it doesn’t really matter.
Regarding the draft picks, its not like I want to try and force the issue, we just likely will be in the mix by nature taking its course. I honestly don’t think we really have to try to lose to be in the bottom 3 teams–we are there already. Of course Randle and Clarkson might be able to win us a handful more games this season if they both can go off at the same time and the other teams have poor shooting nights–even when presented with our porous defense.
dxmanners says
Why in the heck did Lou Williams sign with this sinking ship? He must have had other offers. Glad he’s here though…
Kobe is done. He’ll have bursts here and there, but it’s Willie Mays in centerfield for the Mets, Johnny Unitas for the Chargers.
WHY does such a horrible team not pick the most NBA ready player in Okafor? DAR may still be a quality player, but so tentative, no explosive first step. Distressing. You couldn’t build something around Okafor’s twenty a night?
More Tarik Black. Some Larry Nance. They might play some defense.
Why in the world did they sign Metta to never play? Perhaps one of the younger guys would have developed..
Do they have an offense? It looks like each man for himself, no cutters, not a lot of motion.
Good luck keeping Clarkson here. If he leaves, lights out.
And Stu Lantz is awful. What a joy to hear Mike Smith last night with Clippers-Warriors.
KevTheBold says
Tank, glad we agree !
Especially since your writing and opinions are powerful enough to influence many,… I know, having seen your quotes in numerous posts and possibly articles.
J C says
I was thinking Willie Mays too.
rr says
T Rogers,
I am obviously not one to shy away from criticizing the FO, but situations exist in which I think it helps to remember that they have info that we don’t. If the FO thinks they can move Williams to a playoff team for a late 1st-rounder and an expiring–could be a plus move. Williams is very good at scoring off the the bench, and there are always teams which need that skill.
Emmanuela says
Kobe is Kobe.He’s not going to change, not uenlss he really sees the writing on the wall, and for better or worse this season isn’t the season that will tell Kobe that he doesn’t have it anymore.But really, if you think Bynum and Pau can lead us to championships, you are badly mistaken. Bynum is still immature and while matching Shaq in his relatively care-free approach to the games, is nowhere near Shaq in terms of talent and skill. And we all know that Shaq didn’t come close to winning it all without an elite wingman, which we won’t have once we’re without Kobe.Pau, though improved since his years at Memphis, is not made of the stuff that makes franchise players. He is a very good No2 and overly superlative No3, and while that is great, it’s not going to win us a championship.Now I’m not saying that both are easier to replace than Kobe nor that they’re not as important just that we’ll be no closer to the championship even, god forbid, we amnesty Kobe.