Prior to winning their first game on Sunday night, the Lakers were the only winless team in the NBA to start the season.
Analysis by Kevin Khachatryan, Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Lakers (2-9) dropped their first five games to start the NBA season and are the worst shooting team in the league (41.6 percent) with their 3-point shooting still last place by a wide margin (29.3 percent).
The challenge for the Lakers over the last few years has been surrounding Lebron James and Anthony Davis with shooters and defenders. Last year, the Lakers finished with a 19-17 record against teams who did not even make the playoffs, resulting in them missing the playoffs. The team’s defense was ranked 21 out of the 30 teams in the NBA, giving up 113.3 points per game and shooting 34.7 percent from the 3-point line.
The Lakers dysfunction and struggles to start the season was caused by Lebron James playing with no shooters around him to kick the ball out to. The former first overall pick has criticized the Lakers inability to shoot and his concern on the roster constructed around him to compete for an NBA championship.
“I mean, to be completely honest, we’re not a team that’s constructed of great shooting, “ said the four time NBA champion to lakers press conference. Yardbarker “That’s just what the truth of the matter is.”
Anthony Davis, the Lakers’ superstar has been inconsistent in his availability to play on the court for a whole season. Over the last two years), the eight time all star has played just 76 games in the span of an 82 game season in which the Lakers failed to advance past the first round.
However, the Lakers’ biggest struggle emerged from the player the team traded for in the summer of 2021 to create the supposed “big three.”
In his second year back with the Lakers, the former MVP is averaging a career low in points and assists with 13.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and shooting threes at a subpar rate (29.8 percent) in 30.0 minutes. The presence of his play on the team is so bad that when he is on the court, his plus minus drops all the way down to -211. With his 4.2 turnovers per game and shooting 29 percent from the three point line, first year head coach Darvin Ham compelled the nine time all star to come off the bench for the first time since his rookie season (2008-09).
Westbrook needs time to settle into his new role for the Lakers. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham believed in Westbrook since arriving for the head coaching job in.
“I told him… believe in me bro, I’m gonna put you in a position to succeed,” said the first year head coach in an interview with ClutchPoints.(marca.com) “But you have to put the group first, it can’t be about me or I or mine. It’s gotta be us, ours, we.”
After dropping their first five games, the Lakers only have two wins so far in eleven games that they’ve played. Westbrook’s role off the bench has been working out for him averaging 18 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds since coming off the bench in the last six games.
New head coach Darvin Ham who got the job after being an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks has picked his first two wins of his career as a first time leader of a team.
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