Frustrations mount when a team has lost 45 of its 56 games. When a team loses at that rate, there are many issues to point to and the Lakers are no different. I have maintained, however, that once it was abundantly clear this team would not win at a level which would match some of the preseason rhetoric issued by those in charge, fans would have been pacified if the young players were showcased while playing a more aesthetically pleasing style.
This, though, has not necessarily been the case. Yes, the trio of D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle have gotten plenty of burn. Not at the rate which many would like, but none have been buried on the bench either. We can argue about who is starting and/or who is closing — which are worthwhile discussions — but all are playing at least half the game and getting at least enough minutes to show off what they are capable of.
The problem is, they’re just not doing it together as a group. Take, for example, Friday night’s game against the Spurs.
Clarkson/Randle/Russell shared the floor for 4 minutes against the Spurs on Friday.
— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) February 20, 2016
This is somewhat of an extreme, but not so much so that it comes as too much of a surprise. Below are the total minutes each of these players have played this season as individuals, as separate pairings, and as a trio:
- Jordan Clarkson: 1,747
- Julius Randle: 1,508
- D’Angelo Russell: 1,460
- Clarkson/Randle: 1,077
- Clarkson/Russell: 782
- Randle/Russell: 977
- Clarkson/Randle/Russell: 613
Yep.
There is context here, but the numbers, in the end, speak to a certain type of failure this season has represented. In the face of so many losses, the Lakers simply have not done a good job of maximizing the floor time of the players who, based on the language of the people who run the team, are supposed to be the future of the team.
And, it warrants repeating: it’s not like the kids aren’t playing. Clarkson leads the team in total minutes, Randle is 3rd, and Russell is 4th. They have seen the floor a fair amount, but have not been able to really get a lot of that time together. Contrast that with a team like the T’Wolves where second year pro Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony Towns have played 1,896 and 1,662 minutes individually, but have shared the floor for 1,512 total minutes. Doing the math, that means for 91% of Towns’ minutes he has been on the floor with Wiggins.
Now, compare that to Russell spending 53% of his total minutes played with Clarkson or spending 42% of his total minutes with Clarkson and Randle as a group. It’s not a comparison at all.
Listen to Byron Scott or Mitch Kupchak talk and they imply this will change soon. Russell will begin starting and, with that status, will also start to close games. This should translate to more minutes with Clarkson and Randle simply by default. There is no timeline on when this will happen, but I’d imagine it happens in the next handful of games. The problem is, based on the numbers above, it probably needed to happen sooner.
Chris okorie says
Is a shame that , a person who have more lose than win is telling Lakers nation about basketball. I will never call him c.
gene says
Sad that the worse pct shooter in the NBA this year is allowed to shoot more then anyone on the Lakers. Next season with Clarkson…Russell… Randle and 2 free agents(good players..doenst have to be All Stars)….then you can have Bass,Nance,and Williams off the bench.Its a start of a good team …Replacing a weak center and a bad shooter can only help the team.Williams is a 6th man type of player and shouldnt start.Iam excited for the future cause the 3 main kids can play and will only get better.Scott isnt helping with his rotations but next season will be different….
Baylor Fan says
Great point, the counter argument all season has been that the young players are getting enough burn. But this also nests into the problem of having an offense that eliminates Russell’s strongest ability, namely his passing. Along with playing the trio together, the offense needs to be altered to take advantage of that passing skill and eliminate the obsession with iso’s.
Lakerdreams says
I agree with Baylor Fan – it would not have helped Russell to have started all the games this year with Kobe in the starting 5. It’s a messed up offense with KB the ultimate ball stopper. It leads to bad habits at the point guard position. There’s also the issue of the rookie wall – by limiting Russell’s minutes, he’s now fresh for the final 26 games. Losing is never fun – but with a farewell tour in full swing – and a bunch of rooks leaning the nba game – what else could be expected. Now on to the LOTTERY and an exciting 16-17 season!!!!!
Marques says
Clarkson domininates the ball, which puts Russell off the ball. Why play them together?
Russell needs to the a point guard, Clarkson needs to be a sixth man….
Josh says
26 games before I don’t have to read anymore whining about Kobe. Acting like he’s the problem is asinine. Looking forward to real logical rotations. This post illustrates my biggest gripe with this season. We should start
Russell/Clarkson/KOBE/Randle/Nance Brown and Black 1st off the bench. and just let them learn these last 26 games on the court from the best to do it before he’s gone. Winning should NOT be the priority right now unless they lead it, but Kobe can still teach them things they’ll only learn playing together and we missed a huge opportunity this season to develop chemistry and it’s the coaches fault.
bleedpurplegold says
I can somehow understand byrons approach on this. He recently said we need to find the guy out of this group being able to close games and lead the team. So he gives everyone time without the others to see their qualities as alpha dog.
I do not like this as we could very well develop this chemistry by playing all three together.
LKK says
Josh,
Even after Kobe is gone, folks will still whine about his effect on the franchise. We’ll probably hear that he hung on too long and retarded the the rebuilding process. Or, that if Kobe were more unselfish the Lakers would have won more than the 5 Chips he was a part of. It’ll never end. One might love Kobe or hate him, but it is almost impossible to ignore or forget him.
J C says
It’s true that Williams is a more experienced pro than Russell, obviously. So in his attempts to win now, Byron plays Williams ahead of the rookie.
I also do kinda agree that Russell gets buried behind Kobe and Clarkson’s ball-dominance so there’s some logic to featuring him with the bench players.
What most of us can see is that finishing games provides valuable experience and Williams is best suited to a sixth man role because of his gunslinging mentality.
Playing the three young stars together isn’t the most egregious of Byron’s failings but it can be added to that list.
Agenbite of says
It made some sense at first to play them in pairs with veterans to get some success and and a better feel for the game than they would with the chaos of all of them out there and it has worked to some degree but now it’s time to put the pieces together.
Darius Soriano says
I’m not going to post the numbers (I may write on this at some point), but those who think Kobe hurts Russell (or that Clarkson hurts Russell) should look at the on/off splits for Russell when paired with those players. Russell actually plays better when Kobe is on the floor than when Kobe is on the bench. There’s context to those numbers, but if your argument he’s hurt by Kobe, the numbers tell a different story.
Anonymous says
Great job Jim/Mitch:
Per Baxter Holmes: According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Lakers are 1-34 against teams that are currently .500 or better, the worst such mark in the NBA. (76ers are 1-31; Suns are 7-27.)
Vasheed says
1 small caveat to suggest. Clarkson and Russell do take turns to some extent running the offense at pg. This would naturally reduce playing together somewhat.
KevTheBold says
As for the next Alpha dog, it seems to me that Scott is punishing the initiative of Russell.
“I benched him for trying to take over the game.”
Yes, the team approach is important, yet there are times even today when a win, requires one person to step up and force it, and imo, the types of individuals who live for those moments, are rare.
Thus in a lost season which affords the option, I am perplexed as to why Russell is not being set up to excel in that, versus discouraging it.
AusPhil says
Josh – As long as gene is posting, you’ll get to read anti-Kobe sentiment!