Ask any 8 Laker fans and they’ll have a list. It’s a list with a lot of crossover betwixt one fan or another. It’s a list that could be lengthy or succinct. It’s a list of things that individual fan is 100% certain needs to be “fixed” on the Lakers to ensure that the pathway to another banner has the highest probability of success. Obviously this is a list any fan of professional sport has in one form or another but, in my opinion. Laker fans always have the best lists. Here’s mine.
- Get healthy. Half the items on all of our lists would be solved with better team health. Whether it’s the injuries to Davis and James, COVID and the H&SP or some bum ankles or balky backs the Lakers have not been a very healthy team this season. The effects have cascaded down the roster in multiple ways: Inconsistent rotations, random players thrust in and out of the starting line up and no real feel for the team from the coach. Unlike last season where we featured a very stable and specific rotation, starting five and feel for the coach this team has none of those bonuses. Will that be an issue come the playoffs? My guess is yes it will. Simply from the standpoint of some guys being forced in and out of the starting five so much in addition to making room for Drummond but it’s also showed itself in specific player’s and their impact. Morris tops my list as it would appear his taste of starting has soured his impact off the bench. Will that be the case in May and June? I hope not.
- Settle on roles. This is impacted by the team health but it’s essential for the playoffs that everyone accept and understand what their role on the team is. What you’ve been doing since LeBron and AD have been out is not what you will be doing when they come back. Some guys get that and are willing to sacrifice the individual for the greater good of the team. There are still some question marks in my mind and, for the most part, they all revolve around guys looking for their next contract. Can Drummond sit out an entire playoff series, or more, and not gripe to Jon Q media dude? Will Schroder be able to quickly re-adjust to being the secondary ballhandler on the team and still bring the tough D and grit? Will THT accept the limitations he currently plays under as a burgeoning player in the NBA while still trying to bolster his off season value? The on guy I don’t have questions about is Alex Caruso who is in the same boat: contract is up, small role on the team. He’s always been a team guy and I don’t see him hunting shots or glory points. I want to feel the same way about the other guys (add Markieff Morris to the list as he’s playing for us on the vet minimum but is in the same category as AC is).
- Unleash Montrezl Harrell. It has to happen for us to have lasting success in the playoffs. We will struggle, mightily, if our best player off the bench can’t have an impact beyond taking a charge here or there. A lot of this, in my opinion, lays at the feet of the coaching staff. It’s no secret we’re not a dynamic team on offense but we need to figure out how to get Trezz shots when AD and James are not on the floor, or even if one of them are. I’m not talking about lobs off of drives, those will happen organically. I’m talking about sets we can run to free up Trezz in the paint. Come the playoffs I don’t need to see him shooting from 15 feet out. That’s regular season stuff.
- Keep the turnovers low. Possessions are worth their weight in gold in the postseason. The more gold you hoard during every series the better your chance to hoist a trophy made of it (or at least glazed with it). Silly passes need to stop, fundamental errors (like shortening your dribble, not exposing the ball to small players when you rebound, etc.) need to be cleaned up. The fewer possessions you give away the more field goal attempts you can generate. It’s the simplest math that there is.
- Make threes at a decent clip. I don’t have a number in mind in terms of attempts. If there are better shots available than a three then you take it. I do have a percentage that should allow us to win most series: 38%. A couple ticks over 1/3. If you make that many three point attempts you’re going to do alright. Higher would, of course, be better. But simply shooting the three a lot without corresponding makes is not in and of itself a pathway to success. This will fall on multiple players to help accomplish but number one on my list is Ben McLemore who could be this season’s Markieff Morris. If we can get him hot, keep him and ride for a couple months we’re golden. Larry O’Brien golden.
Just saw that LBJ was upgraded to ‘questionable’ for tonight. Awesome.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31366420/los-angeles-lakers-star-lebron-james-return-ankle-injury-friday-sources-say
Anyhow, what’s on your list?
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