Thought Starter...
Offensive offense, weary stars...
It was always going to be a tough slog for the Lakers coming into Minnesota after grinding out a win Sunday night in Utah. LA arrived still shorthanded (no Austin Reaves) and definitely weary, having played approximately 17 games in the last week.
But even with all of that, the Lakers looked lifeless after the first 12 minutes, posting a gruesome 80 points in a 29-point loss to the Wolves. (109-80, for those who don’t want to do the math.) The core of the problem was fatigue—which is both an issue for the near and long term—and a catastrophically unproductive night from Anthony Davis and LeBron James, who scored 22 points between them. On a team team that isn’t constructed in a way that demands its stars dominate nightly, that’s tough to overcome. On the Lakers, it’s damn near impossible. D’Angelo Russell, stepping into the starting lineup for Reaves, did his part (20 points, leading the team) but the rest of the gang?
Ooof. It was a second straight rough outing for Dalton Knecht. Max Christie was 2-9. The Lakers needed another hero or two, and needless to say didn’t get any.
But the big question is LeBron. After the game, JJ Redick said it may not be in his or the team’s interest for James to follow through on his stated desire to play in all 82 games this season, admirable as the impulse might be. The Lakers need to figure out a way to get the most out of James, who may not be bending the knee to Father Time—it wasn’t that long ago we were celebrating four straight triple-doubles—but does seem to be feeling the wear of stretches in the schedule where the games come fast and frequent, and a team that doesn’t have the sort of high-end depth to support him effectively.
21 games in, maybe James works through the wall and comes out the other side. But the Lakers need to start planning on how to manage him more, and James himself needs to open himself to the idea.
What we’re seeing now, where James has (by far) the lowest net rating among rotation players over the last 10 games, is not sustainable.
—BK
Three Big Questions In This Episode...
1. What went wrong on one of the worst offensive performances the league has seen in years?
2. Do the Lakers have a LeBron Problem? If so, does it have a solution?
3. What might a smarter deployment plan look like?
