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If only there were multi day breaks scattered throughout the season. As it is, the Lakers seemingly have maximized their non-participance in the NBA Cup 2.0 by finding a grip of days to get LeBron rest, the team to get back on the same page, and to get record on the right side of the column. After struggling on defense for most of the season the Lakers have turned in 2 decent performances on that end and the result has been pleasing, Time to turn this thing around.

1. Defense first. It’s weird how often I write about this. I often feel like a wise man, shouting into the wind as everyone else who appreciates basketball screams “shoot more threes” back at me. Then we lose, often a lot, and eventually everyone else comes around to my way of looking at things, mumbling about defense does in fact put banners on walls. There was string of games where the Lakers were giving up close to 120 points per game. Utterly pathetic. We were getting run out of the building because of silly live ball turnovers, non-existent transition defense, and anemic defensive rebounding. While those will surely be issues for the under-sized and soft Lakers all season long, they did start to right the ship and seem more focused on limiting those opportunities after the long break. Time will tell how much of this is an actual sea change and how much of this is a result of a long break early in the season.
2. The LeBron question. It’s not a question of the stats. They look, for the most part, like they always do. Fairly efficient scoring, solid all around play, defense is the area where he needs the most team help. It’s what he needs to do in order to be ready to do this effectively in the playoffs. LeBron has looked decent since his long break. Unfortunately the NBA isn’t in the habit of putting a week or so in between games. So, to this, I hope LeBron, the training staff and coaches are looking at the season and circling games he absolutely needs to sit out in order to maximize off days and increase rest. It’s all for nothing if he grinds himself down to dust and can’t find another gear come playoff time.
3. AD taking the baton. Can we just stop with this being a question now? It’s obvious he cannot carry a team by himself, that he is more suited to being the second dog at the feeding bowl and that his best focus is on defense and scoring can come second. There is no other version of AD that I’ve ever seen show up consistently. Yeah force-feeding him worked for about a month, maybe 6 weeks. It’s not happening anymore because teams are junking up the paint fronting him, having a secondary defender lurking and quick defenders scouring his passing lanes waiting for lazy passes that will happen over the course of every game. A lot of our turnovers are off of ridiculously difficult passes into AD, trying to short cut the play (possibly) and not running a proper action. This is now by defensive design by the opponent. Call me crazy but when you broad cast to the world your plan,, go about executing and then it gets scouted…you need to adjust.
4. The value of Austin Reaves. The reason I prioritize getting another off the bounce distributer at the point guard position is because of the ceiling it seems like Reaves has hit. He’s having a solid season, one could say Tony Parker-esque, It doesn’t seem like enough unless one of DLO, Rui and Max has a pretty error-free, high-impact game. Reaves’ stats won’t wow you but the eye test shows us his value in how he attacks the defense and loosens up the interior with drives. Nobody else can really accomplish that. DLO does his thing with his misdirection, flip shot/sneaky pass game he’s developed but it’s limited and really doesn’t work come playoff time (a well documented issue we need not harp on again). There needs to be another option because Reaves has to eventually sit and, given his styler of play, has a knack for getting banged up. We have serviceable center options on the team, they’re just hurt. Getting Wood and Hayes back would represent the same basic idea of pulling off a trade for another one-dimensional center (like Valanciunas, for example) and if we can get them both on the floor I’d prefer to keep or focus on improving the point guard position or getting a wing defender. This is because Austin Reaves can get it done…barely. If we could get him some help (or if JHS could ever stay healthy AND prove he belongs in the NBA) it would go a long way to improving our title chances.
5. Max Christie: starter. The fact that this is the possibly the best answer to our rotation woes does nothing but illustrate the gaps in the overall roster in a glaring fashion. Pick any top 5 team in either conference and Max Christie is definitely coming off the bench as the plucky guard who can get a stop or two and maybe hit a corner three. End of role. On the Lakers he’s expected to be a steady rotation player, play solid on-ball defense for 20+ minutes/game and score at least 10 ppg. Frankly, that seems unreasonable. He’s not that player, at least not yet, and this really can’t be a season of growing pains. When (if?) Vando comes back I’d rather see him start at the 2 for a month or so.