1. Inconsistency and lack of continuity
It has been a roller coaster ride for the Lakers this season. Several times they’ve played their best against the top teams, managing to beat the Warriors, Nuggets, Thunder, Rockets and Celtics. But they often struggle against their weaker foes, losing to the Knicks, Cavs, Hawks, New Orleans without AD, twice to Memphis and three times to the Timberwolves.
A certain degree of inconsistency was to be expected this year. The team roster featured an odd mix: a young, developing core, a handful of new, well-traveled veterans and a new ball-dominant star. There was no question that it would take time for the players to adjust to one another.
The hope was that the Lakers would develop throughout the season just as the two other teams that signed LeBron as a free agent, Miami and Cleveland, did. That would have meant a slow start leading to a strong finish. And that’s exactly what Magic Johnson predicted prior to the season.
At one point the team seemed to be heading in that direction, perhaps even ahead of schedule. After losing five of their first seven games, the Lakers won nine of their next 11. Even after they then lost two in a row, they rebounded to win four in a row (their longest winning streak of the season) and seven of their next nine, moving into fourth place in the Western Conference.
But starting December 16th, the Lakers have gone only 11-20 over their last 31 games, dropping down to 10th place in the ultra-competitive West. LeBron missed 18 of those games, and Lonzo has been unable to play in the last 13. Earlier this season Ingram missed 11 games while Rondo had to sit out 34 of the first 60 games.
The significance of all those missed games cannot be overstated. It is difficult to compensate for that lack of continuity. As a result, a team such as the Lakers with players who’ve had little or no prior experience playing together is bound to be adversely impacted.
Many of the basic mistakes the Lakers persistently make, particularly on defense, might well have been avoided if the team had normal shared court time together.
Instead, the lack of continuity has helped cause the game-to-game inconsistency. And right now the Lakers show little evidence that will change in the team’s final 22 games.