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Read MoreIn the modern NBA no lead should feel safe. Up 11 with about 4 minutes to go? Meaningless, a couple stops and a couple of threes can get the other team right back in it and ramp up the pressure. It’s why I’m still annoyed Redick bailed on the Atlanta game at the end of the 3rd quarter. That game alone could mean the difference between home court advantage in a key playoff matchup. At any rate, the team has been finding ways to win, despite the math of the modern game, although it feels pretty unsustainable. At some point the guys who need to make shots need to start making shots.
- Laker’s three point futility and feebleness. If the name on the back of the jersey isn’t ‘Hachimura’ it’s likely you suck at shooting three’s so far in the 2025-26 Lakers season. Luka is shooting an atrocious 31.1%, Reaves is shooting an equally atrocious 31.1% and Marcus Smart is shooting a pathetic 24.2%. It would be one thing is these guys were shooting one, maybe 2 threes/game. They lead the team in attempts by a wide margin and it’s killing the offense on a nightly basis and providing a launching pad for teams to make comeback runs against us. Luka launching 11 3’s game is expected but, at the rate he’s missing, it feels like that’s unsustainable. He either needs to start making shots or adjust his attack and get closer because he’s shooting 61.4% from 2. Reaves at 7.9 (making 2.5) is a slightly less egregious offender but what makes it worse is he’s even better inside the arc than Luka is (63.1% on 2 point shots). Lastly, Smart on only 4.9 attempts (making 1/2) is even better than Doncic and Reaves inside the arc at 66.7% (add in that he’s leading the team in free throw percentage at 93.8% and his three point launching becomes even more mystifying to me). Bronny James and Jared Vanderbilt have better shooting touch from three than Smart does, so far. That’s a problem. These guys need to turn this part of their game around or make the adjustment and get aggressive driving the ball into the paint.
- The Lakers are, once again, really good at scoring in the paint. It’s the main reason I’m befuddled as to why we shoot so many three pointers when, other than Rui, we’re not good at making them. We’re the #1 scoring team inside the arc. We’re 2nd in generating free throws (15th at making them). There needs to be an emphasis from the staff to simply let success be your guide. If the three ball is falling, by all means fire away. But consider the open space in front of you as something more than an invitation to shoot, consider it to, maybe…just maybe, be an invitation to take a step or three in and take the easier 2 point shot. Even better, drive the ball into the paint and attack the rim as much as humanly possible. It’s what makes our offense work the best because the whistles will dry up the longer the season goes.
- The defense is nowhere close to where it needs to be. Considering our schedule it feels like we can be better. Letting inferior teams back into the game isn’t the hallmark of a great team. What I’m trying to see as a hopeful sign is how effective we are in crunch time. We’re finding a way to win despite all the early issues. The other thing I’m taking as a positive, for now, is that, regardless of the issues, we’re finding ways to win. This is important because not every game is going to be a cakewalk and having the “slog it out mentality” is one of the hallmarks of a playoff team.
- Maxi Kleber. I like that we’re giving Maxi some early run. As an expiring contract you might as well give him a few minutes, especially early on, and see if he can drum up some mild interest. It feels like we’re a bit guard heavy, as currently built, so you can call me intrigued with any and all trade proposals built around Gabe Vincent and/or Kleber. he hasn’t scored much but he’s been solid in his minutes on D. It’s come at the cost of Vanderbilt and Knecht’s minutes (and Knecht seems to only hurt his trade value when he plays) but that was always going to happen once LeBron returned. It gives us nice option in small ball lineups, I don’t expect it to last, though. I think this is a short run for some guys and we’ll see the script flipped in a couple weeks and get more Vando and Knecht, again, unless we’re utterly balling out against quality teams.
- The Buss Brothers. Just wanted to say thanks for all the good work Jesse and Joey did for the Lakers. it’s unfortunate that so much drama amongst the family led to them never getting a shot at running things because you can make a pretty decent argument they were the most accomplished in terms of any Buss, besides, Jeannie, in terms of what they brought to the team. They ran the scouting dept. really well and we have had a lot of late round success stories thanks to them in no small part.
Next up is a cross-town battle against the Clippers and a slew of home games. Let’s keep the party train rolling people.
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You didn’t miss much. Luka had some nifty passes.
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FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:
SALT LAKE CITY — With nearly 20 percent of the Los Angeles Lakers’ regular season in the rearview, Austin Reaves sat in front of his locker in Utah in as good a position as he’s been in his five-year NBA career.
His team had just hung on to beat the Utah Jazz for its fourth win in a row, moving to 12-4 on the season — tied for the third-best record in the NBA. He had another 20-plus-point game, something he’s done in all but one of his games this season.
And, while it’s not front of mind, a massive payday is waiting for Reaves this summer when he can become an unrestricted free agent and earn more than $40 million a season.
Almost everything has been going right — until Reaves got asked about the most glaring thing that wasn’t.
At the mention of his and the Lakers’ 3-point shooting, Reaves leaned back in his chair and delivered another clank — this time with the back of his head bouncing off the frame of his locker.
“F—,” he said before apologizing to the team’s communication staff.
Maybe the quick blow to the back of the head will be the thing to get Reaves and the Lakers’ shooters back on track.
“I’ll do anything to make a 3,” he half-joked after going 1 of 8 behind the arc against the Jazz.
He’s not alone. Despite the Lakers’ best 16-game stretch to open a year since 2021, their shooters are almost universally ice cold. LA’s three leaders in three-point attempts, Luka Dončić, Reaves and Marcus Smart, are making just 29.6 percent combined. Dončić and Reaves are both at 31.1 percent from 3, both significantly lower than their career averages.
“I think me and AR haven’t hit a shot this season,” Dončić said.
Only the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies are making a lower percentage from 3. Those teams have started the year a combined 20-48.
The Lakers still haven’t shot better than 33 percent from 3 in three straight games this season, the slump now stretching past the first month of their schedule. They went 10 of 38 (26.3 percent) on Sunday.
“We’re literally one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA right now,” coach JJ Redick told his team after the game. “I don’t think that’s who we are. We’ve got to make shots. We’ve got to shoot them with confidence.”
Asked if his team is shooting with confidence right now, Redick quickly deadpanned, “We’re shooting.”
So how have the Lakers, with their 15th-ranked offense and 14th-ranked defense, managed to win games like Sunday’s?
“I think it’s just chemistry. Care factor’s high,” Reaves said. “You wanna go out there and do whatever you can do to help one another succeed. And I think that that goes a long way. There’s no selfishness; everybody wants to see everybody succeed.”
The Lakers have continued to try and build the team’s chemistry throughout the season, both on and off the court. On Friday, instead of holding practice, they had a pickleball tournament. LeBron James’ sciatic irritation forced them to learn how to win short-handed from the jump, an ability that got sharpened when they had to play — and win — without Dončić and Reaves earlier this year.
“Just our resilience,” Smart said. “It’s something new every game for us.”
The latest is a knee contusion that knocked Deandre Ayton out of the second half on Sunday. The team didn’t have an update on his condition postgame.
In addition to the toughness and the vibes, James’ return has helped to raise the Lakers’ ceiling. He had 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists against the Jazz — though he went 0 of 4 on 3s.
“I’m in great shape physically,” James said. “But as far as my wind, I got to (keep working). And it doesn’t help that it’s my second game back playing in Utah altitude. It doesn’t help, that’s for sure. So every game I’ll get better and better. My wind will get better and better. But, s—, this week was kind of like my training camp for me, to be honest. I didn’t get an opportunity to practice with the guys at all throughout camp, throughout the preseason.
“So I’m still working my way back.”
James should help the shooting. So should improvement from Dončić and Reaves. Despite the lousy numbers, no one is too concerned, as the Lakers are pleased with the offense they’re creating even if the results aren’t fully there.
“We’re not worried about it,” James said. “We got too many good shooters. It won’t last.”
Eventually, Redick admitted, the Lakers are going to have to shoot the ball better. But for now, the foundation they are building, one in which they’ve survived all the missed 3s, has them believing that the rims will eventually loosen up.
“Our togetherness is important, playing for each other, the bench spirit tonight was great,” Redick said. “I do think there’s something with this group where we just whatever the game requires that night, that’s what we’re going to do to try to put us in a position to win. We’ve had to, kind of strategy-wise, mix in a bunch of different things, and the guys have been bought into just, ‘Hey, this is what tonight requires.’
“Let’s go out there and try to execute that.”
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Paint points, shots from inside the arc and free throws. The free throws are unsustainable and relying on that in the playoffs will see us get bounced early. We are awful on wide open shots…
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5-0 to make us 17-4, which is on pace to finish 66-16.
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3-2, losses to Clippers and Raptors.
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Me too
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Read MoreWhile the Lakers’ strong start has raised their floor and ceiling, they still need an elite 3&D starting small forward to shut down bigger wing scorers and a quality shot blocking defensive backup center to protect the rim.
With Austin Reaves having played himself into being untradable other than for a true superstar like Giannis, the Lakers no longer have enough coveted trading chips and draft capital to fill both needs before the trade deadline. The Lakers need to carefully evaluate whom they could trade for at the deadline and next summer and who’ll be available to sign as free agent next summer before deciding when and how to fill their two major roster holes.
The Lakers are in an enviable position right now. Their 11–4 record is the 3rd best in the West and 4th best in the league despite injuries, and they’ve won 3 straight games and their next 4 games are against losing teams.
To top off the week, the Lakers now have LeBron back from injury, all 14 roster players finally healthy and available, and a perfectly timed 4-day break to hold valuable practices and set rotations before tonight’s game.Mark Walter is moving quickly to put his imprint on the Lakers much like he did with the Dodgers, which means they’re likely to be more focused and aggressive looking for trades and free agents to win a championship.
Like he did with the Dodgers, Mark is already moving to transform the Lakers front office into a team that’s always on the same page without conflicting factions, which is why he ordered the Buss brothers’ firings.So let’s take a more detailed look at ‘What Do Lakers Need Right Now’ and what moves they might make before the deadline plus ‘What Should Wait Until Summer’ when the team can offer at least 2 and maybe 3 draft picks.
WHAT DO LAKERS NEED RIGHT NOW?
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The Lakers’ greatest need right now is an elite 3&D starting small forward who can shut down bigger wing scorers and free up current starter Rui Hachimura to add needed firepower to the team’s bench with his shooting.
The Heat’s Andrew Wiggins and Suns’ Dillon Brooks are the top veteran small forwards the Lakers should pursue while the Pelican’s Herb Jones and Rockets’ Tari Eason are the the top younger wing candidates to target.
All 4 candidates would require at least a first round pick. Here’s a chart showing what each of the wing candidates earns, whom the Lakers would have to give up to match salaries, and whom they would be able to keep.
Cost of Starting 3&D Wing Candidates …
As you can see from the above chart, the older the candidate and more salary he earns, the more the Lakers must give up in depth in a trade. The lure of trading for Tari Eason is he would cost the least in terms of depth.
The Lakers need a starting small forward who can space the floor, defend his position, and be an integral part of a championship starting lineup. Here’s a chart showing each candidate’s key offensive and defensive stats.
Stats for Starting 3&D Wing Candidates …
While all 4 candidates have the size, 3-point shooting, and defensive skills the Lakers need in a starting small forward, Andrew Wiggins stands out as the best defender and second best 3-point shooter of the four candidates.
Tari Eason’s 3-point shooting stats jump out for only 23 mpg but his blocks and steals for this season are lower than the others. Last season, he had 1.1 3PM shooting 34.2% and recorded 0.9 blocks and 1.7 steals in 24.9 mpg.The Lakers must pull off a blockbuster trade for an elite 3&D starting small forward like Andrew Wiggins, Dillon Brooks, Herb Jones, or Tari Eason. Andrew Wiggins is the safest bet but Tari Eason could be the smartest.
WHAT SHOULD WAIT UNTIL SUMMER
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The Lakers should wait until next summer to set their center rotation of the future because by then they’ll know what they have in Deandre Ayton and multiple quality starting and backup free agent centers will be available.
Mark Walter firing the Buss brothers and hiring Dodgers analytics expert Farhan Zaidi signals a transformation where the Lakers’ front office will always be on the same page and embrace data-driven decision making.
The Lakers’ summer strategy was already set when they declined to offer LeBron a next season contract. They plan to use his $50M expiring contract to sign a center, re-sign players, build more depth, and save their picks.Despite the excellent job Deandre has done as their starting center, the Lakers know they ultimately will need a sustainable roster with better floor spacing and stronger rim protection to become a championship dynasty.
The following chart details 6 available centers the Lakers could pursue as free agents next summer: 3 possible starting centers in Porzingis, Kessler, and Ayrton and 3 backup centers in Robinson, Williams III, and Olynyk.
Cost & Stats for Free Agent Centers …
Kristaps Porzingis is obviously the oldest and most expensive starting center option but with Onyeka Okongwu’s ascension and Trae Young’s looming extension, the Hawks appear to be unlikely to extend him.
The most fascinating starting center option is Walker Kessler, who is out for the season due to a torn left labrum but will be ready to play next season. He’s a restricted free agent, which could make acquiring him difficult.The Lakers would love to end next summer with center rotation that could space the floor and protect the rim headed by Kristaps Porzingis or Walker Kessler. Porzingis is the safest option but Kessler could be the smartest.
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