Los Angeles Lakers Mid-Season Grades: Tank-A-Thon!

MVP: Kobe Bryant. Sorry folks, but those of you clamoring that the Lakers were better off without Bryant early in this season have been shut up. Since going down for the season, the Lakers are 1-9. In games he’s missed, they’re 3-15.

Plain and simple, Bryant is (or was) the best player for the Lakers this year. He may not have been efficient, but he was also asked to do an enormous amount for a player in his 19th season.It’s a shame he broke down again, likely due to mismanagement, but that’s another story for another day.

LVP: There’s multiple ways to look at this. If you want to talk about least valuable player relative to expectations or talent level, I’d imagine Jeremy Lin would be the logical choice. If you want to talk about from a pure talent level, Robert Sacre is probably your guy.

But my vote for the player who has been least valuable to the Lakers is Ronnie Price. Now strapped to the bench, Price has offered little to the team this year. His acquisition by the team late in the off-season was seen as a security blanket in case of injuries, but his inclusion in the starting lineup was befuddling, especially given how bad he was.

Stat of the Season To-Date: 111.2. The Lakers defensive rating, which stands as an estimate of points given up per 100 possessions. That rate is second worst in the league, just 0.3 off the Timberwolves for dead last. The Lakers have lots of problems this year, but most of them seem to center around their beyond lackluster defense.

A. 34.5 min, 37.3% FG, 29.3% 3P, 81.3% FT, 22.3 PTS, 5.7 REB, 5.6 AST, 1.3 STL, 0.2 BLK, 3.7 TOI already mentioned him as MVP, but Bryant leads the Lakers in points per game, assists per game, second in steals per game, fourth in rebounds per game, and has the second best PER on the team. He was Mr. Do-It-All this year.. SG. Los Angeles Lakers. KOBE BRYANT

SG. Los Angeles Lakers. NICK YOUNG. C+. 23.7 min, 36.5% FG, 36.7% 3P, 90% FT, 13.5 PTS, 2.3 REB, 1.0 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.3 BLK, 1.1 TOIt has been an up and down year for <a href=

24.8 min, 51.6% FG, 62.1% FT, 12.5 PTS, 7.0 REB, 1.3 AST, 0.5 STL, 0.2 BLK, 1.2 TOThought to be a useless off-season acquisition, <a href=. C. Los Angeles Lakers. CARLOS BOOZER. B+

A. 28.0 min, 47.6% FG, 76% FT, 12.3 PTS, 8.0 REB, 1.4 AST, 0.5 STL, 0.9 BLK, 1.5 TOExcluding Bryant, <a href=. C. Los Angeles Lakers. JORDAN HILL

D+. 25.5 min, 42.6% FG, 37.4% 3P, 77.7% FT, 10.2 PTS, 2.4 REB, 4.6 AST, 1.1 STL, 0.4 BLK, 2.4 TOIf we’re grading based on expectations and talent, which is how I’m basing these grades on, then Jeremy Lin has been a massive disappointment. Handed the starting job in the pre-season, albeit late into October, Lin hasn’t been able to establish himself. Not only has he stunted his career with the Lakers, but his career as a whole. No one needs a better, more improved second half more than Lin.. PG. Los Angeles Lakers. JEREMY LIN

WESLEY JOHNSON. C. 29.0 min, 40.7% FG, 36.3% 3P, 81.3% FT, 9.3 PTS, 3.7 REB, 1.7 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.6 BLK, 0.9 TOThis about as much as you can expect out of <a href=. SF. Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Lakers. WAYNE ELLINGTON. B+. 22.9 min, 44.6% FG, 38.9% 3P, 81.0% FT, 9.3 PTS, 3.1 REB, 1.3 AST, 0.5 STL, 0.0 BLK, 0.6 TO<a href=. SG

PF. Los Angeles Lakers. ED DAVIS. A-. 24.0 min, 58.2 FG, 54.3 FT, 8.0 PTS, 7.3 REB, 1.2 AST, 0.6 STL, 1.2 BLK, 0.7 TOThe Lakers knew they had probably gotten a bargain when they landed <a href=

JORDAN CLARKSON. B+. 18.1 min, 38.9% FG, 31.7% 3P, 81.3% FT, 7.6 PTS, 2.0 REB, 1.7 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.2 BLK, 1.0 TOThe Lakers knew they had something special this summer in <a href=. PG. Los Angeles Lakers

PF. Los Angeles Lakers. TARIK BLACK. C. 18.5 min, 60.0% FG, 51.5% FT, 5.5 PTS, 5.4 REB, 1.0 AST, 0.3 STL, 0.5 BLK, 1.0 TO <a href=

PG. Los Angeles Lakers. RONNIE PRICE. F. 22.9 min, 35.2% FG, 29.0% 3P, 79.5% FT, 5.2 PTS, 1.6 REB, 3.7 AST, 1.5 STL, 0.1 BLK, 1.2 TOThere isn’t a lot to say about Price, who should have never been on the roster at the start of the year and rightfully has been relegated to the bench in recent weeks. The Lakers would be best off after the trade deadline (or even before it) to waive Price and bring in a D-Leaguer or free agent.

C-. 18.9 min, 32.0% FG, 43.6% 3P, 80.0% FT, 4.6 PTS, 2.9 REB, 0.8 AST, 0.3 STL, 0.2 BLK, 0.7 TOThe most frustrating part of this Lakers’ season, bar none, has been watching <a href=. PF. Los Angeles Lakers. RYAN KELLY

C. Los Angeles Lakers. ROBERT SACRE. D. 16.3 min, 40.4% FG, 63.0% FT, 4.3 PTS, 3.5 REB, 0.7 AST, 0.4 STL, 0.6 BLK, 0.4 TOComing into the season, Sacre’s value was not necessarily known. We knew he was a great bench celebrator, but we weren’t sure of much else about his game. Fortunately, Byron Scott have shown us that he has very little skill and very little value going forward. He’s a decent third-string center and last guy off the bench, but he’s been starting games, and that’s a pretty big problem. It’s great for the tank, horrible for fans watching games.

Byron Scott has had a lot of hits and misses this year, with more of the latter than the former. Obviously, his big mark on the season was his vast overuse of Bryant which may or may not have led to his season-ending injury. While he spoke of learning from those mistakes, it was a case of too little, too late. He has struggled to get the best out of Lin (to say the least), which is another sour mark on the season. He has nailed down the decision to move Boozer to the bench and Clarkson to the starting line-up, among other things.. Coach. Los Angeles Lakers. BYRON SCOTT. C-

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