How Los Angeles Lakers Reinvented Themselves As Offensive Juggernaut

The Lakers used D’Angelo Russell’s evolution, Austin Reaves’ resurgence, Anthony Davis’ playmaking, an all-offense starting lineup, and a 3-point shooting revolution to reinvent themselves as an offensive juggernaut.

After spending the season’s first 40 games trying to build a defense-first starting lineup and rotation, the Lakers suddenly surprised everybody and spent the last 16 games reinventing themselves as an offensive juggernaut.
With injuries to the team’s top defenders like Vanderbilt, Vincent, Reddish, and Christie, Ham was finally forced to play his top offensive players in a move that may have changed everything and saved the Lakers’ season.

For the first 40 games of the season, the 19–21 Lakers were firmly mired in 13th place in the Western Conference with a low offensive rating of 112.2 (#23), fair defensive rating of 114.0 (#14), and poor net rating of -1.8 (#21).
Over the last 16 games, the Lakers turned their season around, winning 11 of 16, solidifying 9th place in the West, and posting elite offensive rating of 120.2 (#4), defensive rating of 116.5 (#21), and net rating of +3.7 (#8).

The Lakers raised their offensive rating from 112.1 the first 40 games to 120.2 last 16 games, an offensive boost of 8.1 points per game at a cost of just 2.5 points per game on defense, for a net improvement of +5.6 points.
The 30–26 Lakers have won 3 straight and 6 of last 7 games, They’re 9th in the West, 2 games behind Kings for 8th, 2.5 games behind Mavs for 7th, and just 3.5 games behind Pelicans for 6th and Suns for 5th seed in the West.

So let’s take a deeper dive into how the Los Angeles Lakers reinvented themselves as an offensive juggernaut and repositioned themselves as the NBA team that other playoff teams do not want to meet in the playoffs.

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D’Angelo Russell’s Evolution

D’Angelo Russell’s evolution into the difference-making third star and elite volume 3-point shooter the Lakers desperately need has been the driving force behind their emergence as a legitimate championship contender.

During the season’s first 40 games, Russell posted 15.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 29.1 minutes per game, while shooting 47.1% from the field, 39.4% from deep, and 76.0% from the line.
During the season’s last 16 games, DLO averaged 22.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 36.4 minutes per game, while shooting 45.5% from the field, 45.3% from deep, and 88.2% from the line.

It’s no coincidence that the Lakers rise from the dead began when Darvin Ham decided to give the starting point guard job back to D’Angelo Russell 17 games ago as L.A. fell 2 games under .500 despite DLO’s 39-point night.
What changed that night was Russell deciding the best way he could complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis was to always be in attack mode to take advantage of them rather than always deferring to them.

As simplistic or naive as that decision might have been, give D’Angelo credit for going out over the last 15 games and proving that his theory was right and triggering a dramatic Lakers turnaround over the last 16 games.
During that 16 game run, Russell’s ppg jumped from 15.4 to 22.3, mpg from 29.1 to 36.4, FGA pg from 12.4 to 17.0, 3PA pg from 5.5 to 8.5, and 3PM pg from 2.2 to 3.9, 3P% pg from 39.4% to 45.3%, FT% from 76.0% to 88.2%.

Whether D’Angelo Russell can sustain this level of play will be a major factor in the Lakers becoming a legitimate championship contender the second half of the season and DLO earning a home in purple and gold.

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Austin Reaves’ Resurgence

Austin Reaves’ resurgence over the last 15 games, following a subpar first 40 games of the season and concerns over his defense, eased any concerns the Lakers had about his future as they refused to trade him for Dejounte.

During the season’s first 40 games, Reaves posted 15.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.1 blocks in 30.0 minutes per game, while shooting 48.7% from the field, 34.4% from deep, and 86.9% from the line.
During the season’s last 16 games, Austin averaged 17.5 points, 3.1 boards, 6.2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks in 33.8 minutes per game, while shooting 49.5% from the field, 40.1% from deep, and 85.0% from the line.

While Reaves did not need to reinvent his game like Russell to secure his starting role, he did need to show he could be counted on to be a strong enough scorer, playmaker, and defender to start on a championship team.
While Austin raised his level of play over the last 16 games, the Lakers may still want better perimeter defense than a Russell and Reaves backcourt could deliver, especially when defenders like Vando and Reddish get back.

Right now, Reaves is playing like he did during last season’s playoffs. His pairing with Russell has been special, shooting lights out from deep and showing his skill in getting buckets, free throws, and dimes in the paint.
Reaves’ biggest problem is his team-first attitude and willingness to come off the bench could make him vulnerable to being replaced as a starter by a better defender like Vanderbilt, Reddish, Vincent, Christie, or Dinwiddie.

Austin Reaves continues to grow in his role as the Lakers’ fourth star behind LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D’Angelo Russell. He’s met the challenge by giving the Lakers’ starting lineup a fourth offensive star.

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Anthony Davis’ Playmaking

The development of Anthony Davis as an elite playmaker not only elevated his offensive repertoire to the superstar level of his defensive arsenal but also turbo charged the Lakers’ elite new AD-centric half-court offense.

During the season’s first 40 games, Davis posted 25.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.6 blocks in 36.1 minutes per game, while shooting 55.1% from the field, 33.3% from deep, and 81.0% from the line.
During the season’s last 16 games, Anthony posted 24.4 points, 12.4 boards, 4.7 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.4 blocks in 34.7 minutes per game, while shooting 55.6% from the field, 20.0% from deep, and 80.7% from the line.

The big statistical difference for Anthony Davis between the first 40 games and the last 16 games was the jump in assists from 3.5 to 4.7 per game. Through his 12-year career, Davis has averaged only 2.5 assists per game.
Davis’ improved passing has also caught the eye-tests of the announcers and pundits covering the NBA. Per Lakers, Davis been working a lot with James this season to improve his passing as a counter to double teams.

During their first 40 games when defense took priority over offense, the Lakers averaged 114.1 points per game, 19th in the league. During the last 16 games, the Lakers averaged 124.2 points per game, 2nd to Warriors.
During the Lakers’ first 40 games, the Lakers averaged 27.7 assists per game, which was 8th in the league. During the last 16 games, the Lakers have averaged 30.6 assists per game, which was 1st in the entire league.

Anthony Davis’ improved playmaking has transformed the Lakers’ half-court offense. AD’s ability to playmake at a superstar level has transformed their moribund half-court offense into a championship caliber attack.

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All-Offense Starting Lineup

After 40-games of constant starting lineup tinkering and controversy, injuries to defenders finally forced Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham to return to a D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves offense-first backcourt.

The benefits of the Lakers finally having a modern lineup with five players who can space the court, make plays for their teammates, and were key to making last year’s conference finals were obvious over the last 16 games. Suddenly, the lack of continuity and chemistry that plagued the first 40 games seemed to magically disappear the last 16 games with the Lakers’ new starting lineup of Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, James, and Davis.

One of the major coaching challenges in the NBA is finding that critical balance between offense and defense that would optimize winning and Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham has certainly struggled with that issue.
While there’s truth in the cliche that defense wins championships, the goal of the game of basketball is to put the ball through the hoop more times than your opponent does. That’s a lesson Darvin Ham needed to learn.

The Lakers’ new offense-first starting lineup may still need better perimeter defense down the line but for now it’s brought desperately needed continuity and stability for the team’s entire 12-man rotation.
The bigger challenge will come when the Lakers return to play the remaining 26 games on the schedule with a goal of at least climbing into the top-6 teams in the West to get a guaranteed seed in the playoffs.

Injuries and coaching inexperience led the Lakers to struggle with their starting lineups during the first 40 games but their new all-offense starting lineup of Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, James, and Davis is a big winner.

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3-Point Shooting Revolution

What D’Angelo Russell’s evolution, Austin Reaves’ resurgence, Anthony Davis’ playmaking, and an all-offense starting lineup have done is launch a 3-point revolution to transform the Lakers into an offensive juggernaut.

During the first 40 games of the season, the Lakers were 28th in the league with only 10.9 made threes per game, 30th in the league with just 30.5 attempted threes per game, and 22nd in league shooting 35.8% on threes.
During the last 16 games, however, the Lakers ranked 16th in the league with 12.4 made threes per game, 25th in the league with 31.2 attempted threes per game, and 3rd in the entire league shooting 39.9% on threes.

The main benefit of the Lakers’ 3-point revolution is how it changes their blueprint of how to win games, which is dominate points-in-the-paint and made-free-throws to overcome their usual negative 3-point differential.
While sustaining this level of 3-point shooting may be hard, the Lakers’ enhancements were due to better process, more spacing, fewer turnovers, smarter shot selection, improved ball movement, and increased assists.

During the first 40 games, the Lakers 3-point differential was -10.5 points per game. During the last 16 games, that same differential was just -3.6 points per game, a 3-point differential improvement of 6.9 points per game.
During first 40 games, Lakers lost 3PM by 10.5 points but won PIP and FTM by 8.6 points for a -1.9 net difference. Over last 16 games, they won 3PM by 6.9 points and PIP and FTM by 9.5 points for a 16.5 point net differential.

The Lakers have parlayed D’Angelo Russell’s evolution, Austin Reaves’ resurgence, Anthony Davis’ playmaking, and a new all-offense starting lineup into a 3-point revolution that’s transformed their blueprint to win.