The Lakers Shouldn’t Get Too Comfortable

Last week, as Dalton Knecht rained threes on the hapless Utah Jazz, you probably wondered: Are the Lakers good? Six straight wins, 10 overall, a bona fide MVP candidate in Anthony Davis, a developing roster and a (still) ageless wonder in LeBron James offered reason to believe.

Also last week, as the Lakers gagged away a win over the Orlando Magic and looked lifeless in the second half of a blowout loss to the Denver Nuggets, you may have wondered if what you were seeing was more of the same. Bad defense, too many turnovers and stretches of poor effort—particularly in a 37–15 third quarter on Saturday against the Aaron Gordon–less Nuggets—made this Lakers team look a lot like the one from last season.

At 10–6, the Lakers are overperforming early expectations. The offense is humming. JJ Redick is working. Redick’s play-calling has been inspired and his attention to detail—demanding the team be organized has been a season-long theme—has evolved L.A. into a dynamic offensive force.

“JJ, in his first year as a head coach,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone, “is doing a hell of a job.”

Before the season, Redick vowed to build the offense around Davis. He has, and Davis has responded. He’s averaging career-highs in scoring (30.1 points per game), free throw attempts (10.3) and three-point percentage (40.6%). Davis is still scoring in isolation (2.3 per game, per NBA.com) but a more pass-happy offense has created more opportunities to score in rhythm.

Consider: Last season, the Lakers averaged 267.5 passes per game, ranking in the bottom third in the NBA. This season L.A. is averaging 302.1, a number that has pushed them into the top 10.

Armed with depth, Redick is using it. The Lakers didn’t have Knecht last season. Gabe Vincent has already played more games this season (16) than he did all of the last one (11). Redick has coaxed even more out of Austin Reaves. Rui Hachimura’s return on Saturday frees the Lakers to comfortably go nine-deep.

Said Malone: “JJ has got a really good group of guys to work with.”

A group led by James, who continues to defy norms. James, a month shy of his 40th birthday, is off to another ridiculous start. He’s averaging 23.6 points on an uber efficient 51.1% from the floor and 42.2% from three. Among Lakers officials, many of whom have been around for the bulk of the James era, there is genuine astonishment. Not just at his numbers, but also how many nights he is still the most athletic guy on the floor.

So what does it all add up to? Being good is a nice story. But the Lakers are built for more. The defense is a problem. L.A. is 27th in defensive rating. They are 24th in points allowed. No team allows more fast break points. They aren’t physical. The defensive rebounding numbers are terrible. Injuries have thinned out the Lakers’ frontcourt depth that wasn’t very good to begin with.

“We’re trying to get to that [point] where we’re physical every possession and we’re going to have to make the refs call fouls,” said Reaves. “Our personnel, if we’re honest with ourselves, isn’t the best defensively. Obviously we got AD, that covers up a lot but we have to be physical out on the perimeter and especially when boxing out. We got to be a better defensive rebounding team and transition as well.”

The lapses in effort are equally troubling. On Saturday, the Lakers took a six-point lead into the locker room at halftime. They entered the fourth quarter down 16. Asked about that third quarter, Redick said “the spirit to compete just wasn’t there.”

“Me and my staff will take some ownership on that as well,” said Redick. “It’s not just players not executing the game plan. It’s all of us. We’re all on the same team. We all want the same outcome. We all want to be a good defensive team. So we’ve got to figure out that together.”

Quickly. Redick called the effort issues on Saturday “an aberration,” telling reporters the same thing he told the team: “That’s not who we are.” But the Lakers’ margin for error is slim.

Jarred Vanderbilt’s slower-than-expected recovery from offseason foot surgeries—Vanderbilt remains out indefinitely—has been a setback. That Redick is forced to run Christian Koloko out for meaningful minutes is all you need to know about the state of L.A.’s frontcourt. After the loss to Denver, Davis suggested playing more zone defense.

The Lakers can survive a bad shooting night. They can’t survive bad effort.

“The organization has to be there and really there’s only so much we can do,” said Redick. “We try to joystick it as much as possible … I can joystick it as much as I want, but if you’re not competing and you’re not playing, not [participating] in the game, there’s not a whole lot I can do.”

As long as Davis stays healthy—he played in a career-high 76 games and despite a regular presence on the injury report has played in 15 of Los Angeles’s 16 games so far this year—the team will be competitive. But competitive isn’t enough, not with Davis playing at an MVP level and James on the roster. The Lakers, said Reaves, are “in a good spot.” Indeed. Now they need to find a way to get into a better one.