Los Angeles Lakers: What to learn from remaining playoff teams
What the Los Angeles Lakers can learn from the Phoenix Suns:
The Phoenix Suns have displayed the importance of having an individually dominant third option in Deandre Ayton.
It is no secret that the Lakers could use one more guy. Dennis Schröder was supposed to be that guy, but after an up and down season, and declining a hefty four-year, $84 million contract extension from LA, it is likely that Dennis will be playing somewhere else, likely for less as well.
Andre Drummond was also supposed to be that guy, but inconsistent play and early offensive woes have made it seem that the Lakers may not be getting the 20-20 outputs that Drummond gave so frequently in his prime days (however, I still have confidence in him).
The search for a dominant, reliable, and deadly third option will be a main focus for the Los Angeles Lakers front office this summer.
Also, the Phoenix Suns have shown the importance of team basketball during their magical playoff run.
The Lakers will need to shift away from isolation basketball to more of a cohesive passing offense that finds the open man. While they do this at times, it is not as frequently as it should be for sustainable play going forward.
LeBron James was the 10th in iso-ball this season with a frequency of 18.1%. Every player ahead of him including James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Julius Randle, Damian Lillard, and Jayson Tatum have been eliminated from the playoffs, with the only player ahead of him in iso frequency still playing being Jeff Teague.
While LeBron James is obviously a nightmare matchup one-on-one against pretty much anybody standing in front of him, and injuries and lack of shot-creators contribute to his high usage of iso-ball, the stat is still worth noting.
It will be intriguing to see how The King adapts for next year’s campaign, and how his iso-ball may differ, or remain similar, to this year (he has remained between 17%-19% FREQ since joining LA).
In addition, the Suns were third in the league for assists per game this year with 26.9, while the Lakers were 15th with 24.7. The same rankings hold true for the playoffs. While the APG numbers do not seem very far apart, when accounting for a 72 game season, it is significant.
The Lakers, if fully healthy, very well could have beaten the Suns in the first round instead of getting bounced in 6 games, but it has become apparent as the playoffs continued that they will need an improved third option, likely at the point guard position, to open up the court and facilitate a more team-centric style of play.