The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the league’s biggest surprises over the first week of the NBA season.
No team had a more impressive start compared to its preseason expectations, as the Lakers notched wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings (on the second night of a back-to-back) at home.
Coach JJ Redick seemingly pushed all the right buttons schematically and with the rotation. Anthony Davis posted three straight 30-point games and conquered his Domantas Sabonis demons. LeBron James went supernova to remind everyone he still has it at 39 years old. Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura excelled as aggressive tertiary weapons.
But then the Lakers hit the road.
They have since dropped back-to-back games, including a nailbiter in a rematch with the Suns and a 24-point drubbing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Jameses’ homecoming. Off-nights happen throughout an 82-game season. The loss to the Cavaliers was the Lakers’ fourth game in six nights. Cleveland is undefeated and playing exceptionally well. Los Angeles is 3-2 through a difficult five-game slate, which seems right given the competition level.
But the losses also serve as a reality check for the Lakers that while they are good — and potentially even really good — there is still a gap between them and the top of the league.
They have the top-end talent and offensive firepower to beat anyone on a given night, but their margin for error remains slim, especially on the defensive end. They can’t afford mistakes in execution, effort or focus, as was the case far too often against Cleveland. The Lakers’ start was so impressive because of how they achieved it. They had a possession-by-possession awareness and intentionality needed to be a great team. In the last couple of games, there’s been notable slippage.
There is nothing like the palate cleanser of facing a lottery team. The Lakers play the Toronto Raptors on Friday and the Detroit Pistons on Monday before ending their road trip against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. It will be telling how quickly they can return to form amid their first true bout of adversity this season.
Here are four other trends from the first five games.
Davis’ MVP-caliber play
My bold prediction entering the season was that Davis would finish in the top five in MVP voting. So far, that seems reasonable. He won Western Conference Player of the Week for opening week and has easily been a top-five player to open the season.
Davis is averaging 30.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.0 blocks on 54.6-25-76.3 shooting splits. He’s surpassed James as the clear No. 1 option in the offense, posting a 31.5 usage percentage, his highest mark in Los Angeles and the second-highest of his career. Davis has already attempted 15-plus free throws in two games after doing so just twice last season.
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It remains to be seen if Davis can maintain this type of workload on both ends and stay healthy. He got banged up in the first quarter against both Phoenix and Cleveland, grimacing in pain and lumbering up the floor at various points. Similar to last season, when he pushed himself to play through pain and appear in as many games as possible, he persevered and refused to go back to the locker room or sit out the rest of the game.
This is the best Davis has played since 2020. And if the Lakers are to right the proverbial ship and continue exceeding expectations, it’s because he’s carrying them.
Role-player development
Los Angeles has been vocal about the constraints of the new collective bargaining agreement, and how it’s causing teams to prioritize depth and development. Two role players, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, have popped to begin the season, looking more like their 2023 selves. Redick has talked both up in his news conferences and empowered them as the No. 3 and No. 4 options within the offensive hierarchy.
Reaves is averaging a career-high 16.8 points, a career-high 6.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists, to go along with 52.5-44.8-75 shooting splits. He’s returned to being the team’s primary ballhandler next to James. The Reaves-Davis two-man game has been devastating. Reaves’ pull-up ability, both from 3-point range and in the midrange, keeps defenses off balance, allowing him to drive and either get to the rim or hit Davis with pocket passes in traffic. He’s also defended everyone from Anthony Edwards to Devin Booker to De’Aaron Fox to Donovan Mitchell, embracing the assignments and largely holding his own outside of the Mitchell matchup.
Hachimura is averaging 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds, both career-best marks. He’s shooting an unsustainable 57.1 percent on 3s, but his confidence beyond the arc has made his fit next to Davis and James seamless. He’s playing with a level of verve, aggression and assertion that he’s flashed before but never sustained. He’s rebounding at a career-best level, defending opposing wings credibly and eliminating contested mid-range jumpers. Defensively, he’s been solid against both wings and bigs in Los Angeles’ switch-heavy scheme.
For the Lakers to continue winning at a 50-plus win pace, they’re going to need these versions of Reaves and Hachimura to sustain on both sides of the ball.
Perimeter defense concerns
For as well as Reaves and Hachimura have defended at times, they’re both better as complimentary defenders and not primary wing stoppers. And therein lies the primary issue facing the Lakers.
Their best perimeter defender, Jarred Vanderbilt, is out. The team is set to update his timeline, potentially as soon as Friday night ahead of the Toronto matchup. The Lakers’ two best available perimeter defenders, Gabe Vincent and Max Christie, come off the bench and have been struggling offensively, limiting their impact.
Transition remains a glaring concern. It’s been a problem for the Lakers under the three coaches of the James-Davis era. For as great as Davis is defensively, and for as good as James can be when he’s locked in, transition defense isn’t a strength for either player anymore. (Outside of the occasional chasedown block from James.)
The Lakers rank 10th in half-court defense and 30th in transition defense by a wide margin, according to Cleaning The Glass. Opponents plan to attack them in transition off both makes and misses. Opponents are averaging 3.0 points per game more off of their turnovers — points that often come in transition or early offense — and 4.9 points per game more on fast breaks. Scoring is up leaguewide, which can explain part of the increase, but the Lakers have undeniably been worse with their transition defense to start the season.
They have a dearth of perimeter defenders compared to the league’s best teams. And with most teams having a speed and athleticism advantage over them on the perimeter, there are going to be a lot of nights where opposing perimeter scorers torch them.
Improving in the possession battle
An early emphasis for Redick and his coaching staff has been trying to make up ground in the possession battle and create greater advantages along the margins.
The Lakers’ paint-heavy offensive approach and defensive scheme created free-throw margin advantages over the past two seasons. But outside of that, they ranked in the league’s bottom half in opponent points off turnovers, opponent second-chance points, opponent fast-break points and opponent points in the paint, among other categories.
This season, Los Angeles has improved in those categories specifically, including ranking in the top half of the league in opponent second-chance points and opponent points in the paint. The Lakers have increased their second-chance points by 1.7 points per game and their fast-break points by 2.0 points per game. They’ve also improved from 19th to 11th in turnovers per game and are averaging 6.2 more free throws than opponents to 8.4 more attempts.
The early returns are positive. Getting out in transition more, getting to the free-throw line more and taking better care of the ball are steps in the right direction. Those are the kinds of advantages the Lakers will need to actualize their potential and punch above their weight.
(Top photo of Anthony Davis: Harry How / Getty Images)
