The Lakers season has not gone according to plan, as LeBron James’ first season in L.A. will end when the regular season does, snapping his streak of 13 consecutive playoff appearances.
There’s plenty of blame to go around in Los Angeles, from ownership to the front office to the coaching staff to the players, further exasperated by injuries to top players. LeBron missed 20 games with a groin injury and never seemed quite right once he did return — he sat out their most recent game in Milwaukee with groin soreness — and Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram are on the shelf until the remainder of the season.
All of those factors must be taken into consideration when evaluating the Lakers, but even if healthy their ceiling seemed lower than most any LeBron team in recent memory, and this last month and a half has pointed their many issues with roster construction. It’s no secret that it’s been bad for the Lakers of late, but since February 1 only the New York Knicks, who are firmly in the driver’s seat for the worst record in the NBA this season, have been worse.
The Lakers loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday dropped them to 4-15 since the beginning of February, with New York’s 4-17 record as the only one in the league worse than L.A.’s. The quietly-tanking Mavs are 5-14 over that stretch, followed by the 6-13 Suns, 7-13 Hornets and Timberwolves, and 7-12 Cavaliers.
LeBron’s proclamation at the All-Star break that he was entering “playoff mode” early has been and will be mocked mercilessly, as the Lakers have cratered since that statement rather than beginning a climb in the standings. Offensively, things are about what they have been all season in terms of offensive rating, with a 106.8 ORtg since Feb. 1 compared to 107.3 on the season. Neither of those are good in an historic offensive season in the Association, ranking bottom 10 in both, but no longer is their defense allowing them to hang around.
The Lakers’ defense for the season has been league average with a 109.2 defensive rating (16th in the NBA), but with Ball out their defensive rating has cratered to 115.4 since the start of February, fourth worst in the league. That -8.6 net rating is tied with the Knicks for the worst since Feb. 1 and illustrates how bad things have gotten as the Lakers are now much closer to the league’s worst teams than they are to those in the playoff hunt.
With both eyes now firmly placed on the upcoming offseason, the question Lakers fans have to be asking is whether Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka are willing to do a complete 180 when it comes to building a roster around LeBron. Last summer, they insisted this would be the year LeBron put his back to the basket more and allowed others to take control of the ball-handling duties. Their rationale behind signing Rajon Rondo and Lance Stephenson was to have more creators to help LeBron, while also touting defensive abilities neither still have at this point in their careers.
They were defiant when pressed on the lack of shooting on the roster, scoffing at the notion that all of LeBron’s teams in the past had been built upon the idea of surrounding him with three-point shooters to let him create and find the open man. Instead, they loaded the team with some of the league’s worst shooters in the backcourt and on the wing and trotted them out there to surround one of the all-time great creators and hoist brick after brick.
On the season, L.A. has hit 33.1 percent of their three-pointers, with the only team that shoots a worse percentage being the Suns. The experiment has clearly failed, but will they be willing to admit that or will they choose to lean on injuries as an excuse for why this plan failed miserably? Hopefully, for Lakers fans, it’s the former, but this summer may very well make or break the LeBron era in Los Angeles.
The approach has to be different, particularly when it comes to the veterans brought in to surround James. L.A. needs upgrades in all areas, from rim protection in a starting center to shooting on the perimeter and everything in between, and while they will certainly go star-hunting to fill one or more of those needs. It’s possible this is all fixed by the acquisition of someone like Kawhi Leonard, finally trading for Anthony Davis, and/or landing the top pick and getting Zion Williamson. However, whatever their first plan of attack, they have to have a better Plan B for if they get turned down by the elite free agents than they had in 2018.
There are plenty of reasons for free agents to want to come play for the Lakers this summer, but it’s far from a guarantee that they’ll bring in one of the very best players on the market. That means Pelinka and Magic will have to be ready with a list of players from that second and third tier to go after, spending wisely for players that actually fit the needs of the roster, instead of piling up some names fans may remember from years past.
If that does happen, and they do show the ability to change their approach and learn from their mistakes, missing the playoffs in as spectacular fashion as they have may be a blessing in disguise for the Lakers. Had they snuck into the playoffs on the back of LeBron, the front office may not have seen as big a need for dramatic change to their philosophy. This season has shown that’s needed, and Lakers fans will hope for a change in approach and execution this summer to avoid another disaster next season.
