The Lakers have traditionally been built on the premise that stars win. The idea is seemingly embedded into the fabric of the organizational ethos. This is a franchise that does not retire your jersey number unless you get elected into the Hall of Fame. They are the franchise who has always had a leading man (and usually more) — from Mikan to Magic, Baylor to Bryant and all the HOF names in-between — anchoring the roster and driving it towards success.
Recent summers (save for 2016) were dedicated to the chase of the next front-man who would lead the organization out of shambles and back into position to compete for championships. Even though there are high hopes for the youngsters grabbed in the lottery, the team always operated under the guise that the next great team might need to be fronted by a star not yet present.
And maybe that is still true. We don’t yet know how good D’Angelo Russell or Brandon Ingram or Julius Randle will be. Early returns tell us they have the potential to be special. And I am a believer in their respective talents. But if every player with potential reached their ceiling, Anthony Randolph might be the league’s reigning MVP on the Warriors, not that Steph Curry character.
While the young players ply their craft in pursuit of living up to their draft status, a funny thing has happened: the Lakers are winning games and are a fun team to watch play. Even if we thought this was possible, to see it actually happening is surprising. What’s even more surprising his how it is happening.
My guess is that if anyone envisioned the Lakers making a huge leap this season it was going to be on the backs of one of their young players. D’Angelo Russell would break out. Brandon Ingram would be more ready than his thin frame and 19 years would imply. Julius Randle wouldn’t just make the year 3 jump, he’d become the do-it-all forward his high school pedigree suggested was possible.
And while we have seen that all of the above are true to varying degrees, the bigger point is that nearly every player is providing some sort of contribution to the team’s success and there isn’t one single player who stands above the rest as the clear reason the team has improved.
Consider that the Lakers currently do not have a single player who averages more than 27.7 minutes a game (Randle). They play a 10 man rotation where nine of the 10 guys play 20 minutes a night (Tarik Black is at 14.1). They have 5 players averaging double digits, but the leading scorer is at 15.9 points a night (Russell). No player takes more than Russell’s 14.4 shots. I could go on and on.
Sunday’s win against the Suns is a perfect example of how the team’s ecosystem works. The team’s starters pushed out to a nice lead with the reserve group following that up with more impressive play. In the 2nd half, the Suns started to make their push against the 1st unit, so Walton turned to his bench to stem the tide. With that group, Lou Williams played a key role in stabilizing things, but after a couple of dry possessions, he got subbed out and Russell came back in.
When Russell returned, he partnered with Nick Young (marinate on that for a minute and think of how unlikely that sentence seemed even 3 months ago) to take back control of the game to allow the team to pull away. On the night, six Lakers scored in double figures with Ingram (9 points) just missing that standard. The team shared the ball, came up with key stops, and hit the right notes offensively with no single players standing above the rest. As Julius Randle recently said, whoever is open shoots and everyone is buying in.
It was just a season ago where the head coach spoke with complete, unabashed honesty about wanting to funnel the team’s offense through a single player. He’d earned it, was the rationale. The rest of the players followed that direction and, not surprisingly, the team struggled as they tried to depend on a player who was clearly the face of the franchise but no longer able to produce like it. That’s not a knock on Kobe, father time comes for us all and always get his man.
This season things are different. There is no one player to lean on. One night it’s Lou Williams. The next it’s Jordan Clarkson. Then it’s Randle. Or Russell. In the crevices are other guys spackling up the holes — Larry Nance Jr., Tarik Black, Deng, Mozgov, Ingram. The bench cheers and celebrates a big play whether it’s Calderon and Zubac leading the way or if it’s Russell and Clarkson.
The Lakers’ collective is finding its stride and it is fun to watch. And in a year where development and establishing the right habits were chief goals, it seems the Lakers are well on their way. I don’t know if the wins will continue, but as long as these guys continue to play for each other I don’t think fans can ask for more.
Wishwash says
Underdog Status every night, scrappy players, Effort, and watching these young players grow, are just a few reasons why watching each game makes it so exciting. Even the losses feel good because of their never give up attitude. Reminds me of the Nick Van Excel 90s Lakers, every game anything is possible.
adamv37 says
I have had higher expectations than most on the Lakers potential this year, but even I’m surprised at the team’s level of play and ability to compete in close games and against quality opponents. Most people who were writing this team off as a cellar dweller pointed to the youth and lack of an all star, but those are actually the reasons why this team is succeeding. If KD comes to the Lakers, do the young guys get as many minutes and become too dependent on him to keep them in the game? With the current roster, we have a bunch of young guys proving their potential and vets changing the narrative about their careers. The way Luke Walton manages the minutes is such a unique approach to getting the most out of the roster. If you also factor in the commitment on defense and the free flowing offense, this team is just plain fun and exciting. Who knows what their potential is this year, but we the fans better appreciate every minute of this.
I LOVE BASKETBALL!
_ Robert _ says
Team is way ahead of where I and most others thought it
would be (especially considering schedule).
Luke is on target for COTY and he is also at present the
best news for the Laker’s future.If
things go right, he could be here a long time, and at present he looks like a
big plus.
The only downside I see is that 2 top picks are not the ones
who are the top performers out on the court.
Luke has basically a rag tag type roster playing like they
are cohesive machine.It is very early
but if this continues – it is the type of thing that attracts FA to come.
KevTheBold says
Still looking for the max free agent I see.
I say we will grow our own.
As to our two top picks not being the ‘top performers’, there are several logical reasons for it, from Luke’s system which is all about the ‘team’ concept, to their ages and experience levels.
Brandon is only a rookie, with a few games under his belt, and Russell has been directly and purposely reeled by Walton from his previous style, which is temporarilyaffecting his shot.
Give them time, and like the Warriors, we will have a few stars, but home the grown variety, which are the best kind.
_ Robert _ says
Kev: We are not yet ready for the max guy but hopefully we will be in the not too distant future.
We will eventually need him as we have for all of our 16 titles.
You can hope for 2004 Pistons type team if you think that is best.
Either way – the way the team is playing now is a plus
PS: Didn’t the Warriors just sign Durant? What were they thinking? : )
MT87 says
_ Robert _ By my count we have three guys on the roster right now that have the potential to be max contract guys. More talent is always better but I don’t understand characterizing the young core’s future as similar to the 2004 Pistons. Given the leap we have seen already from last year it seems prudent to withhold judgement for at least a few more months(if not longer) before we conclude that we need to acquire a Durant-level figure in free agency. It might yet prove true but now is not a good time to assert that we know everything about these young guys that there is to know. FWIW there were two moves that made the Warriors what they are: signing Iguadala (not Durant) in FA and not trading Klay Thompson for Kevin Love.
In any case there aren’t many franchise-altering free agents in the next couple of years. I see Griffin next year and Cousins the year after that and not much else unless something dramatic happens. I’d love to get either of them but FA is more unpredictable these days. The Lakers are most likely going to have time to figure out exactly what they have before there will be a solid opportunity to make the move that puts them over the top.
Mid Wilshire says
The key to the Lakers’ success thus far is clearly their depth.
So far, the Lakers’ 2nd unit (which is not really a “2nd team” in the traditional sense of the term) is averaging 50.6 ppg, the highest in the NBA by far. The second most productive 2nd unit is San Antonio’s with 38.3 ppg.
Furthermore, of the Lakers’ top 5 scorers, 2 are part of the 2nd unit — Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson. Russell is averaging 27:26 minutes per game, Lou is averaging 23:20, Randle 27:46 (tops on the team), Jordan Clarkson 27:22, and Nick Young 26:46.
Luke Walton’s approach apparently is to spread productivity over the two units to the greatest degree possible. Furthermore, the 2nd unit with Clarkson, Tarik Black, Larry Nance, Jr., and Brandon Ingram might actually be the team’s best defensive unit.
As a result, when the 2nd unit comes in, the opposing team finds themselves facing a major conundrum: how do you match up with these guys? Some of them could actually be starting on other teams. (Last year Clarkson started the entire year and led the Lakers in minutes.) With the Lakers’ depth, they present problems that opposing teams face no where else in the league.
Having a team that is legitimately 10-deep is highly unusual. And, to his credit, Luke Walton is using that depth brilliantly.
Let’s see how it plays out for the rest of the year. So far…so good.
bluehill says
The depth of the team, versatility of the players, the style of play – we could see some of these things coming together on paper, but harder to say how well it could actually work or when it would start to come together. It’s obviously coming together pretty nicely and lot more quickly than I expected.
I think this SI article has an interesting perspective on why low expectations may actually be a positive. If these guys keep winning, expectations are going to grow and teams are going to take us more seriously. I’ll be interested to see how they respond when they see teams a second time.
http://www.si.com/nba/2016/11/07/lakers-dangelo-russell-luke-walton-brandon-ingram-julius-randle
“The context helps, too. The Lakers are in the best phase of development
as a basketball team. This is the sweet spot. There’s enough talent here
to make every game exciting, but there’s enough youth on the roster to
guard against any real expectations or scrutiny. Nobody is getting
nitpicked over defense, or three-point shooting, or efficiency. All that
matters are Larry Nance alley-oops and D’Angelo Russell crossovers.
Wins are nice, but nothing is critical yet, and everything’s better than
the Kobe/Byron Scott death march.
It’s not like this around the league. Teams like the Clippers can
dominate throughout November and December, but that’s the baseline for
Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Basketball fans won’t get euphoric over
the Clippers until any of this translates to the playoffs. Likewise,
teams like the Warriors are psychoanalyzed after every loss. Even teams
like the Celtics are being graded on a contender’s curve. For the
Lakers, shortcomings can be ignored, and every success is an excuse to
get drunk on possibilities down the line. “
fern16 says
Mike Conley got a max contract and he is a bum in my opinion, actually he is a decent player but a max? HELL NO. He is earning over 26 million a season for 13ppg and 5 assists freaking absurd!!! So viewing a player as a max contract guy is on the eye of the beholder nowadays. For me there are 4 maybe 5 true max players in the NBA, the rest are overpaid grossly.
BigCitySid10552 says
– Watching the Lakers play is once again a joy. Plenty of credit to go around to Luke and the players.
They are making the most of a given opportunity, and doing it well. This is why I, and a few other
posters were so frustrated with the direction the team chose the last few seasons.
– Love a stat that’s not getting a lot of attention. With the exception of Nance Jr (.667) & Metta (.500)
every other Laker is shooting at least 78% from the line.
– Pertaining to the “superstar” issue, I agree with Robert. Fully expecting that guy to come via free
agency now that FA’s with options see the Lakers are running a professional basketball team with
the intent of building a championship contender as opposed to a circus.
– NBA “experts predicted 24-25 wins for the Lakers this season. Personally I’ve been stating 30
win minimum mainly because the Lakers have only won less than 30 games five times in their
incredible 68 year history. With three of those five horrible seasons being posted the last three
years.
-These kids are on a mission, anyone who doesn’t believe part of it is due to last years’
frustrations, well I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.
-Loving this new journey and the wild ride ahead
Clay Bertrand says
bluehill
“….everything’s better than the Kobe/Byron Scott death march.”
_____________________________________________________________
No one would say it like that at the time. Death March!?!?!?! LMAO!! Man, last year was MISERABLE. Good read.
The more people see Ingram handle the ball, the more Greek Freak comparisons are going to arise especially if he also can increase his rebounding while continuing to play decent D.
JOIN THE CHURCH OF LUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Lakers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. I sure am glad PHIL isn’t here……….Lord knows he’d be very unhappy with the Lack of Triangle being run. SMH…….. I hope Phil steps on a Lego!!
KevTheBold says
_ Robert _
True that the Warriors signed Durant, yet they won their championship prior to doing so.
With Walton, I believe that our core trio, including Zubac, can be every bit as good in a few years.
Of course the future is always unknown, to me, and to you as well; yet fact remains, it’s too early to discount our core as being bereft of stars.
Vasheed says
KevTheBold _ Robert _
The Warriors actually look weaker this year than last year without Bogut’s rim protection.
I’m of the opinion if you can add a guy worth the max to your roster that’s a good thing but, the Warriors do show that you have to factor in possible downside costs if it means giving something up.