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Should The Lakers Be Worried About LeBron James’ Slow Start To playoffs?

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While the #7 seed Lakers have stolen home court and have a 2 -1 lead over the #2 seed Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs, 38-year old superstar LeBron James has, by his own standards, gotten off to a slow playoffs start.

James averaged 28.9/8.3/6.8 and shot 50.0/32.1/76.8% in regular season. In the playoffs, he averaged 28.6/9.0/7.2 and shot 49.5/33.5/73.9%. In 3 games against Memphis, he averaged 24.7/10.7/4.3 and shot 50.8/20.0/66.7%.
Of special concern are his reduced scoring and playmaking. James is averaging 3.9 fewer points and 2.9 fewer assists per game while shooting 13.5 and 3.2 percentage points lower on his 3-point shots and free throws.

The greatest concern is LeBron James’ team worst -5.3 plus/minus. The Lakers have always won the LeBron James minutes. Their problem this series has been losing the minutes when LeBron James is in the game.
So far, Davis, Russell, Reaves, Vanderbilt, and Hachimura have posted postive plus/minus and net ratings while James, Brown, Schroder, and Gabriel have struggled and posted negative plus/minus and net ratings.

While three games is a small sample size, this is the playoffs and frankly, we have not yet seen Playoff LeBron. We’ve seen glimpses in a specific play or series of plays but not the King literally taking over a game or series.
There are some who think James may be taking a deliberate step back to give co-superstar Anthony Davis the opportunity to step up and take the torch from the King and become the team alpha and face of the franchise.

The big question is whether James had just been coasting and filling in what he perceives the Lakers need as the series proceeds or whether his slow start is a sign that he might not be able to be a superstar every night.
Everybody knows Father Time will eventully defeat even the King. We’ve seen the start of it with the more numerous injuries and longer recovery time to get back on the court. Could the next step be part-time superstar?

We’ll get an answer to that question when the Lakers play the Grizzlies in Game 4 Monday night in L.A. The Lakers have essentially stolen home court and taken a 2–1 lead without LeBron James playing like a superstar.
Game 4 is when superstars like LeBron James take over 2–1 playoff series and transform them into 3–1 series headed for a ‘Gentlemen’s Sweep.’ Game 4’s are when even part-time superstars put on their Superman capes.

In the end, there’s no way the 7th seed Los Angeles Lakers are going to beat the 2nd seed Memphis Grizzlies unless they win the LeBron James minutes for the rest of this series. Lakers need LeBron James the superstar to win.

Maybe Lakers Need LeBron James To Respond To Dillon Brooks’ Challenge

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Sometimes, when somebody foolishly ‘pokes the bear,’ the right response is for the bear to bite back hard and give the fool a lesson, which is why Dillon Brooks should be careful because he just might get what he wants.

Everybody understands that Brooks is just trying to get James to indulge in a personal battle with him instead of focusing on the team’s game plan but maybe the Lakers’ plan for Game 3 should be to unleash James and Davis.
After all, the Lakers’ winning combination has always been a healthy James and Davis with complementary roster. But in Game 3, James and Davis were on court together for 29 minutes and posted a terrible -20.5 net rating.

Individually, James posted 28 points, 12 rebounds 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and just 1 turnover in 39 minutes but had a team worst -17 plus/minus. While LeBron shot 12/23 from the field, he was just 1 for 8 from deep.
Meanwhile, Davis posted just 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 steals, 5 blocks, and 2 turnovers in 38 minutes with a -4 plus/minus. Anthony was great defensively but shot poorly hitting only 4 of 14 shots in the loss.

Since their trade deadline makeover, the Lakers have discovered a formula for winning that makes up for points given up due to poor 3-point shooting by winning the points-in-the-paint and made-free-throw differentials.
Unfortunately, that winning formula did not work in Game 2 as the Grizzlies not only won the 3-point battle by 12 points but were able to tie the Lakers in the number of made-free-throws and points-in-the-paint.

The Lakers delivered a brash statement to the Grizzies in Game 1 but the gritty Grizzlies punched back hard and raised the physicality of the series. It’s time for the Lakers to do same and punch back and be more physical.
LeBron James doesn’t need to be poked by the likes of Dillon Brooks to be motivated to come out and dominate Saturday night but only a fool would expect the proud James not be looking for payback against the Grizzlies.

But LeBron does not have to score 40 to show the world what happens when you poke the bear. What he has to do is create a wire-to-wire Lakers win that resets the relative standing and hierarchy between the two teams.
While the Lakers blew an opportunity to sweep the Grizzlies, they still won home court advantage by winning one of two in Memphis and there’s still a path for a gentlemen’s sweep if they take the two games in Los Angeles.

Payback. That’s what Saturday’s game will be all about. The Lakers learned an important lesson from Game 3 that should get their attention and focus them on upping their game, their focus, and their physicality to new levels.
The playoffs are about adjusting and elevating your game as your opponent adjusts and elevates their game. You adjust or you go home. LeBron and AD need to adjust and elevate their games for the Lakers to win Saturday night.

Dillon Brooks saying he doesn’t respect LeBron because he hasn’t scored 40 on him and calling him old is not going to end well for him or the Memphis Grizzlies. LeBron’s response is going to be to take it out on the Grizzlies.

Has Time Come For Lakers To Start Hachimura Rather Than Vanderbilt?

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After blowing a golden opportunity to steal a second road win from the #2 Memphis Grizzlies, the #7 Los Angeles Lakers would be smart to consider starting Rui Hachimura over Jarred Vanderbilt for the rest of this series.

Hachimura has been the Lakers best player on offense, posting a gaudy 133.3 OffRtg for the two games and tying LeBron James with a team best 24.5 points per game for the series while also playing well defensively.
Rui’s ability to score efficiently from all three levels has opened up the Lakers’ offense. After leading the Lakers to the win with 29 points in Game 1, Hachimura followed up by scoring 20 points in the L.A.’s Game 2 loss.

Meanwhile, Vanderbilt has struggled offensively, especially around in the paint. Jarred reminds fans of Ben Simmons when he gets the ball near the basket. His offensive struggles were a lethal killer in yesterdays’ loss.
The Grizzlies showing the Lakers they can raise the defensive pressure to another level puts L.A. in a tough spot. The Lakers may need Hachimura’s offense more than they need Vanderbilt’s defense in this specific series.

Hachimura is averaging 24.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0 blocks in 29.5 minutes per game in the series. His advanced stats include a team best 133.5 OffRtg, 5th best 118.8 DefRtg, and 4th best +15.3 NetRtg.
Vanderbilt is averaging 6.0 points, 5.5 rebound, 0.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.5 blocks in 22.5 minutes per game. His advanced stats inclued a team worst 112.0 OffRtg, 2nd worst 120.0 DefRtg, and 2nd worst -8.0 NetRtg.

Ham has already responded to Hachimura’s superior play by giving him minutes that used to go to Vanderbilt. Hachimura 29.8 minutes per game is 5th highest on team in the series whereas Vando’s minutes dropped to 6th
The Lakers’ next step could be to replace Vanderbilt in the starting lineup with Hachimura. Statistically, Hachimura has been the Lakers’ best and Vanderbilt the Lakers’ worst offensive player so far in this series.

Ham will likely keep the same starting lineup for Game 3 with Vanderbilt knowing he needs to be aggressive and score near the rim rather than just passing the ball out. If he struggles again, Hachimura could start Game 4.

The New-Look Los Angeles Lakers! Are They Contenders or Pretenders?

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It only took one playoff game for the L.A Lakers to force late-to-the-party NBA reporters and analysts to suddenly switch positions and promote the 7th seeded purple and gold from a pretender to legitimate contender.

The Los Angeles Lakers have always believed that a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis surrounded by a roster that complemented them was all they needed to have a legitimate chance to win an NBA championship.
Ironically, that’s exactly where the Lakers find themselves after a trade deadline roster makeover and late season resurgence. The new-look Lakers suddenly are fully heathy and playing as well as any team in the league.

Fortunately, the parity in the West that resulted from expanding the postseason to include more teams via play-in tournament and balancing the odds of getting the top draft pick are likely to extend into the playoffs.
We’ve aready seen three Western Conference teams — Lakers, Kings, and Clippers — pull off First Round Game 1 upsets and players returning from injury and getting injured are already changing the playoffs’ dynamic.

Unfortunately, heath is the issue for the Lakers, who dodged a bullet when Davis was able to return for the second half after suffering what appeared to be a serious injury late in the first half for the second time in two weeks.
But even if the Lakers can remain healthy, the path to the championship this season is still daunting with the Grizzlies, Warriors, Suns, and Nuggets representing a fierce gauntlet of serious strong teams to overcome.

With the West so wide open, are the new-look L.A. Lakers contenders or pretenders? Could they realistically win their 18th NBA championship this season? Let’s look closer at the pros and cons of a Lakers championship.

The Pros

The chances the Lakers win the NBA championship this season start with a healthy and rested LeBron James and Anthony Davis, much like they did back in 2020 when the Lakers dominated the bubble to win their 18th title.

The brilliant roster makeover engineered by Rob Pelinka at the trade deadline transformed a poorly constructed and incomplete Lakers roster into a deep and diverse team with seven key difference-making players.
Besides superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the new-look Lakers backcourt of the future of D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves gives the team two elite scorers and playmakers who can play on or off the ball.

The Grizzlies saw firsthand the new offensive power the Lakers have with the Russell and Reaves backcourt as the Lakers’ due outscored the Grizzlies starting backcourt of Ja Morant and Desmond Bane 42–40 for the game.
The Lakers traded Westbrook and the ‘three-superstar model’ for Russell and Reaves and the ‘two-superstars-and-two-stars model.’ These four are now the Lakers core. The core four each scored over 20 points in Game 1.

The new-look Lakers roster goes beyond the core four. Pelinka brought in smart BBIQ role players who could be difference-makers and give coach Darin Ham different buttons to push to win close games in the playoffs.
Jarred Vanderbilt starts next to the core four as their lock down defender while Dennis Schröder and Rui Hachimura are the energy players off Ham’s bench. All three are difference makers who could win a game.

The Laker also have two wild card players in Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba who have the potential to have huge positive impact but will have to be brought along carefully and integrated into the rotation by Darvin Ham.
Malik Beasley gives the Lakers that feared high volume 3-point shooter for whom teams have to game plan while Mo Bamba gives Los Angeles a true backup center who can both protect the rim and stretch the floor.

Lakers have two healthy superstars, two elite combo guards, and three to five difference-makers who add elite size, shooting, and defense. They have a starting lineup and 7-10 man rotation that could win a championship.

The Cons

The biggest reason to question whether the Los Angeles Lakers can win an NBA championship is obviously the health of their often injured superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, both of whom have in and out this year.

Frankly, the only reason the Lakers are the 7th seed rather than 2nd seed is their terrible 2–10 start and parade of untimely injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis that would have derailed the team but for league parity.
Talent wise, this Lakers team lealthy is probably the most dangerous 7th seed in the history of the NBA. They’re playing as well as any team in the league and have an elite starting lineup and deep and diverse bench

Now that the Lakers are finally healthy, can they realistically stay that way? Superstars James and Davis have missed large periods of the season due to foot injuries as have point guards D’Angelo Russell and Dennis Schröder
We already saw another Anthony Davis injury scare late in the first half of Game 1 where he sufferred what looked like a major injury only to come back in the second half. This is second time this has happened this month.

While it’s no slam dunk that James and Anthony will be able to stay healthy, the other negative is how little time key rotation players on the roster have had to play together due to ongoing injuries and late date of the trades.
If there is another negative to the Lakers new-look lineup, it’s that winning might be more realistic next season after the team had more time to gell and learn how to win together as a team. Hard to do that late in the season.

While the Lakers have the superstars and supporting cast to win the NBA championship, their greatest challenge will be for their superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis to remain healthy throughout the entire playoffs.

The Odds

After their big Game 1 win, the Los Angeles Lakers have the 6th lowest odds to win the 2022–23 NBA championship behind the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers, and Denver Nuggets.

Realistically, the Lakers at this point would likely be underdogs to any of those five teams. The challenge for them as a relatively newly formed team will be to elevate the level of their play as they move from series to series.
We will find out soon whether the healthy new-look Lakers can build the necessary continuity and chemistry to beat established championship caliber teams like the Milwaukee Bucks or Golden State Warriors.

The Lakers’ next big test will come tomorrow night when they will have an opportunity to kick the disappointed Memphis Grizzies in the face and set up a first round sweep and get valuable time off before the second round.
The playoff are an accelerating series of tests from game to game and from series to series. The opponents get better, the challenges greater, the path tougher, and winning harder each round. Teams grow into champions.

The Lakers looked great winning Game 1. They have found a formula that works and need to repeat it. Approach every game as if it was win or go home. Do not waste series, games, possessiions. One down, fifteen to go.

Four Reasons Lakers Should Dominate Grizzlies & Win First Round Matchup

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Overall, the Lakers and Grizzlies appear to be two fairly evenly matched teams, with the 2nd seed Grizzlies starting out as slight favorites over the 7th seed Lakers for their Sunday first round playoff game in Memphis.

The two teams met three times during the regular season, with the Lakers winning two out of three but never with all three stars. LeBron missed two of the three games, Davis one of the three, and Morant one of the three.
Since the trade deadline, the Lakers 115.6 OffRtg is #14, their 110.8 DefRtg is #2, and their +4.8 NetRtg #6 in the league while the Grizzlies 116.7 OffRtg is #12, their 113.0 DefRtg is #10, and their +3.7 NetRtg is #9 in the league.

While the Grizzlies have home court advantage, the Lakers are not only finally getting fully healthy but also peaking at exact right time. Here are four reasons why Lakers should dominate and beat the Grizzlies in six.

1. Superstars

In the NBA, superstars win championships and as dynamic and exciting as the Grizzlies’ Ja Morant is as a superstar, there’s just no way he can match the combined superstar firepower of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Where the Lakers superstar advantage dominates is in the matchups. While the Lakers will struggle to defend Ja Morant, the Grizzlies do not have the size or individua defenders to slow down Anthony Davis or LeBron James.
Jaren Jackson, Jr. is not going to outplay Anthony Davis or Dillon Brooks keep up with LeBron James but Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura are the long, physical, athletic wings who can make Morant work for his shots.

In the end, a healthy and rested James and Davis will be too much for the young Grizzlies. Lakers will steal one of the two games in Memphis, sweep the two in L.A, lose Game 5 in Memphis but then win Game 6 in L.A.

2. Experience

Experience is a prerequisite to winning in the playoffs and there is no way 23-year old Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson, Jr. can match the chanpionship expierence of 38-year old LeBron James and 30-year old Anthony Davis.

James and Davis proved in the bubble in 2020 that they could carry a team to the NBA championship. Now they are finally healthy and ready to show they’re still the best superstar duo on the planet by winning their 18th title.
Morant and Jackson, Jr. will have an uphill challenge to defeat what is a dramatically better Lakers team than the one that aready beat them two out of three times this season. Missing Adams and Clarke is not going to help.

Bottom line, the veteran playoff and championship experience of LeBron James and Anthony Davis gives the Lakers a big advantage over an untested Grizzies roster that just won their first ever playoff series last season.

3. Health

Every NBA season proves a player’s greastest ability is still his availability. Fortunately for the Lakers, for the very first time this season, they are finally and completely healthy with all 15 players on the roster available.

That means the Lakers will play their best starting lineup for just the eighth time this Sunday. It means they’ll have Mo Bamba, their backup center for the first time in over a month. Lakers are getting healthy at the right time.
Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies will be missing their starting center in Steven Adams and key backup forward off the bench in Brandon Clarke. Xavier Tillman is the undersized backup who will start for Steven Adams

The Grizzlies may have the better record and home court advantage but the Los Angeles Lakers are now 100% healthy whereas the Memphis Grizzlies will be missing two important front court players in Adams and Clarke.

4. Momentum

Momentum could be the x-factor that favors LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the new-look Lakers over the belicose, rebelluous Ja Morant and the ‘show-me-some-respect’ Memphis Grizzlies in their first round matchup.

LeBron, AD, and the Lakers are on a vision-quest to rise from the ashes of a 2–10 start and win their league-leading 18th NBA championship whereas Ja and the Grizzlies just want to salvage something from this horrid season.
Many had written off the Grizzlies before the Morant situation was resolved without irrepable damage but the team has competed and managed to stop the bleeding. Whether they can beat the Lakers though is another question.

Right now, the Lakers are positioned for a deep playoff run that could lead to their 18th NBA championship. They’re finally healthy and have what could be considered to be a favorable path to title. That’s momentum.