Getting role players more involved
Anthony Davis and LeBron James have been incredible so far this season, so much so that both members of the Lakers are in the MVP conversation this season. On any given night Davis or LeBron can take over the scoring load and lead the purple and gold to the win on the back of their scoring. It is a reassuring feeling knowing that you have two elite scorers on the roster capable of putting up big scoring numbers.
However, while LeBron and Davis have been pulling their weight, the same cannot be said about a lot of the other members of the Lakers roster.
With LeBron and Davis both averaging over 25ppg you would hope the 3rd biggest scorer would be in the late teen’s early twenties in terms of points per game. The next leading scorer is Kyle Kuzma with a measly 11.1ppg. The other scary stat is LeBron, Davis, and Kuzma are the only members of the Lakers averaging double digits in scoring!
For a team with such high championship expectations, this needs to change and fast.
Greater emphasis needs to be placed on the role players to step up their scoring output in order to give the likes of LeBron and AD more help.
A frightening thought would be for Davis or LeBron to go down injured and the purple and gold will struggle to win games due to players being unable to get buckets.
With players like Danny Green, KCP, Dwight Howard and Kyle Kuzma all capable of scoring the basketball, the coaching staff must light a fire underneath them in order to get them to step up to the plate.
If each player could average at the very least 2 baskets a quarter in the flow of the offense, the Lakers would be an extremely hard team to beat.
This Lakers team has capable scorers, they just need them to step up to the plate and be heard.