With only six games remaining after losing their game against the rival Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers have very little time to get right. LeBron James is confirmed to miss the next two games due to the same ankle injury that held him out for 20+ games.
On top of that, the mighty interior rotation of Anthony Davis, Montrezl Harrell, and Andre Drummond is not only looking average, but they’re looking below average at times given how easily they have been beaten up on defense.
The Lakers will never truly be out of the title hunt with LeBron and AD in the lineup, but they have lost so much momentum that they could end up in the play-in tournament, which is not where this team should be when you look at the roster from top to bottom.
I believe they are five certain attributes fans need to see from the Lakers before the playoffs before they get any degree of confidence.
On to Portland. pic.twitter.com/KML3oa5Rcw
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 7, 2021
The Los Angeles Lakers need to work towards these five key goals.
1. LeBron and AD returning to fully health. This season has been a nightmare for Lakers fans as the two megastars have been injured at inopportune times.
A lot of the commentary around the Lakers has been about chemistry or continuity, which is fine, but this Laker team is all about LeBron and AD’s health. If that takes missing games during this late run so bit, the Lakers aren’t winning a title without a healthy LeBron.
2. Find a consistent rotation. The starting lineup seems to set when everybody is healthy, but all season long, Frank Vogel has been switching players and not going with a consistent rotation. That is understandable at first but now with the season racing to the end Vogel needs to find a trusted eight-man lineup.
3. Improve front-court production. Vogel has another decision that holds the potential repeat within its grasps; Who should playing between the three big men? Unlike last season where Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee were journeymen who were fine with limited minutes, these latest group of big’s are a different story.
Gasol is the best of the bunch to run with Davis if the Lakers want to play him at the four. The decision would fall between Drummond and Harrell, which come playoff time is a dangerous decision given their poor defense.
Lakers fans are just the latest group to realize that the experience of looking at Andre Drummond’s box score stats when he’s on another team is wildly different from the experience of watching Andre Drummond play for their team
— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) May 3, 2021
4. Reduce Talen Horton-Tucker’s minutes. This is a controversial take, but I believe THT just isn’t ready to play consistent minutes in the playoffs. He works fine in the regular season, but time after time he’s weaknesses get exposed against good teams.
He isn’t a reliable shooter and is far too reckless when attacking the rim. Possessions matter in the playoffs, and I hope Vogel realizes this sooner than later.
5. Build positive habits. All season the Lakers were committed to playing low-turnover basketball and elite defense, but lately have fallen off course. The news about Dennis Schroeder and LeBron being out definitely seemed to deflate the team.
Still, that gives the team no excuses to be sloppy with the ball. Habits are hard to break, so it would be wise of the Lakers to find a way back to their winning ways.
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