While Los Angeles Lakers fans begin to get restless, LeBron James’ tenure is a marathon, not a sprint and trust should still be instilled in Magic Johnson.
There is no question that so far, the Los Angeles Lakers look like a team that will struggle to win 30 games, let alone make the playoffs.
The defense has been horrible, their three-point shooting has been worse, and Brandon Ingram out of all players is throwing haymakers at the NBA Players Association President Chris Paul. While not exactly following the script, this slow start was expected, LeBron James saw it coming too.
Laker fans need to take a deep breath and relax; everything will be okay. Even if the Lakers do not end up making the playoffs this year, and struggle to win 30 games, it will be okay in the end.
Let us not forget that three players getting heavy minutes for the Lakers, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart or Kyle Kuzma, are only in their second season with the Lakers. It is easy to forget this when LeBron joins your team, and expectations jump through the roof for what this team can achieve.
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Trading any combination Ingram, Hart, Ball or Kuzma, for a potential one-year rental will only exacerbate the situation. Acquiring Jimmy Butler or Kawhi Leonard mid-season will gut the team, while also taking up precious cap space for the 2019 free agent class.
LeBron is notoriously known for taking his time during the regular season, “LeCoast James “is typically the label attached to this.
So, with a brand new organization, new team, and a new coach there are bound to be growing pains. Tie the growing pains in with Lebron feeling things out, and you get the Lakers’ start so far this season.
Not to mention that LeBron is now in the bloodbath known as the Western Conference, which cuts down on how long he has to figure things out. Gone are the days where LeBron takes a month of and not drop a game in the playoff standings.
The Lakers have a lot to work on so far. Their defense has been atrocious, especially defending the three where the Lakers rank 28th (41.1 percent). Their offense has been great, but that will change when teams start planning for their horrid 3-point shooting which also ranks 29th in the league (28.7 percent).
These were all known weaknesses coming into the season, so it is going to take coach Luke Walton and company time to figure out what works.
Magic Johnson and Lebron knew what they were doing when they met at the start of free agency. Relax LakerNation; everything will be fine in the long run, “Trust the Process.“ , even if the process takes longer than we all expected.