Los Angeles Lakers: Five positive early 2019-20 season trends

The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten out of the gate quickly, winning 11 of their first 13 games. What does that mean for the season?

Los Angeles Lakers fans are thrilled that the team has gotten off to such a great start this season. After losing to the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 10, they rebounded to beat the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors in back-to-back games, kick-starting another winning streak and are in first place in the tough Western Conference.

But NBA champions are, of course, never crowned in November. The Lakers have enjoyed the benefits of what has so far been a reasonably advantageous schedule. They have yet to play several of the best Western Conference teams, including Denver and Houston and haven’t faced Eastern Conference powers Philadelphia, Milwaukee or Boston either.

Teams always face several bumps in the road during a season, especially potential injuries to key players. How well the players handle adversity goes a long way towards determining the teams’ ultimate success.

And as good as the Lakers have been so far, they clearly have room for improvement in several areas. The most glaring deficiency is their 3-point shooting. As a team, they are connecting on a dismal 33.3% of their attempts beyond the arc, ranking just 24th in the NBA.

Most observers thought the addition of sharpshooters Danny Green, Quinn Cook and Troy Daniels in the offseason would help. Green is doing his part, shooting at a 42.4% clip on his 3-point tries. But the second-best percentage on the team is Rondo’s 37.5 percent. Four other players are all under 30%: Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Alex Caruso, Avery Bradley.

There is every reason to expect the team’s long-distance marksmanship will heat up as the season progresses. But at least for now it remains a team weakness as it has been for what seems like an eon.

Still, there are five positive trends that collectively should help the team enjoy a successful season.