Lakers: Winning Games Now Is Hurting, More Than Helping, LA’s Future

The Lakers have enjoyed a recent turnabout, winning 4 of their last 7 games after starting the season 5-28.

It was no surprise that the Lakers started slowly this season. The roster turned over considerably from last year, with only six players returning who were on the court for any significant time, most of them in reserve roles. That list included Kobe Bryant, who was coming back from injury and bound to be a bit rusty.

Additionally the team essentially added three rookies, another virtual rookie in Julius Randle and a first-time NBA veteran European player, Marcelo Huertas. That said, it was easy to forecast that the team would struggle to begin the season.

Now that they have had time to play together, and the rookies have adapted to life in the NBA, the Lakers are much more competitive, even in their recent losses to Sacramento and Oklahoma City. But that leads to more questions. Can we expect them to continue to improve? What is this current team’s ceiling? Is winning more games now a good thing in the long run?

It is difficult to know just what to expect from this Lakers team. GM Mitch Kupchak recently said that development of the young players will of necessity take a back seat to the franchise’s biggest priority: paying tribute to Bryant.

Yet Kobe has recently been in and out of the lineup. Given his age and the mileage he’s accumulated in his 20 NBA seasons, that trend will likely continue throughout the year. Since the rest of the team plays one way when he’s on the court and a different style when he’s not, continuity should remain a problem.

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Despite that, the youngsters have predictably grown as the season evolved. A light seems to have turned on for D’Angelo Russell, whose on-court play has improved dramatically. In recent games before he turned an ankle he demonstrated why the Lakers made him the #2 pick in last year’s draft.

Jordan Clarkson has probably been the most consistent player all year long. Larry Nance Jr. has also been impressive, showing off a nice mid-range jump shot and a willingness to keep the ball moving in addition to his leaping ability and hustle.

Even Anthony Brown has started to show that he can be a good ‘3-and-D’ NBA player, a 3-point shooter as well as a tough defender.

Randle has struggled offensively since being moved to the second unit, but most observers feel it’s only a matter of time before he emerges as a strong, nearly unstoppable offensive force. And Thursday night against the Warriors, Coach Byron Scott finally gave Tarik Black some court time so he can build on the promise he showed last year.

All of that suggests that the team should continue to progress as the young guys gain more experience, which will likely translate into more victories. Just how many is anybody’s guess. But what everyone does know is that the Lakers obviously won’t make the playoffs this year. So in the big picture, does it really matter whether they win 20 or 30 games?