The Los Angeles Lakers should be pretty happy with their offense so far in 2026-27. After all, LA entered Wednesday with the NBA's best offensive rating at 121.9.
That said, the Lakers' offense still has plenty of room for improvement, and they have 74 games left in the regular season to work on that.
One way that I think the Lakers can immediately start to raise their ceiling offensively is to involve Sandro Mamukelashvili more often. Mamu has had a strong start to the year, but I'd like to see his usage, minutes, and shot attempts increase, as well as his overall influence on the offense.
The Lakers should feature Sandro Mamukelashvili more prominently in their offense
Entering Wednesday, Mamu was fifth on the Lakers in usage at 16.0 percent. I'm not kidding when I say that Mamu being third behind only Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves would be healthy for the Lakers.
Player | Usage Rate |
|---|---|
Luka Doncic | 39.7% |
Austin Reaves | 26.2% |
Collin Sexton | 26.0% |
Walker Kessler | 16.4% |
Sandro Mamukelashvili | 16.0% |
It's no mystery that the Lakers need additional playmaking and ball-handling beyond Doncic, Reaves, and Collin Sexton. Some people thought Bronny James was going to be ready for that assignment, but he's not there yet.
But the Lakers have a capable ball-handler in Mamukelashvili, and he should get more reps with the ball in his hands at the point of attack. I love how Lakers head coach JJ Redick allows Mamu to grab rebounds and dribble up the floor without an outlet -- that's an excellent start. But I even think Redick should experiment with more offensive actions in the halfcourt in which Mamu is put in a position to create for himself and others. He's a capable passer, not to mention an underrated driver of the ball.
Redick has praised Mamu in the press and called him a rare offensive talent. And indeed, Mamu is more than just a pick-and-pop floor spacer on offense. He can initiate offense for you and operate as a secondary or tertiary creator against pretty much anyone. At 6-foot-9 with significant strength, he's also a tough size matchup for defenses when a guard switches onto him.
Sandro Mamukelashvili should be the Lakers' third creator on offense
Walker Kessler is bound to average the third-most points on the Lakers due to all of the lobs he gets from Doncic and Reaves. And Sexton has no trouble scoring, either, but hear me out ... Mamu should be considered the Lakers' third "option" on offense from the standpoint of having the ball in his hands at the point of attack. He should be featured this way moving forward if the Lakers want to maximize their potency on offense.
There's only one ball to go around, I get it. With that in mind, I'd like to see Quentin Grimes do less dribbling, with Mamu handling the rock more often. Grimes can be effective and put pressure on a defense when it comes to one- or two-dribble moves, but he shouldn't be initiating the offense or holding onto the ball for the majority of the shot clock, in my opinion. More Mamu!
Add us as a preferred source on Google