Will The Lakers Start Jelling Soon?
Heading into Wednesday’s contest against the Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Lakers are off to a 2-5 start. However, they are beginning to show signs of consistency, winners of two of their last four games.
Even during their first three games, the Lakers weren't having a great deal of offensive issues, averaging 125.3 points per game. However, giving up an average of nearly 132 points during that stretch isn't conducive for any team to succeed.
Considering that Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo have already missed seven games combined, moving forward you should see a much more well-oiled machine on the court with LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson, Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball.
Offensively, the Lakers are lead by James and his 27.3 points per game, followed by Kuzma at 19.5 and McGee at just under 16 per game. In fact, the team has been sharing the wealth, as eight players are averaging double-digits in scoring.
Adept at ball-control, Los Angeles is third in assists per game, while in the top ten in fewest turnovers committed. The improved play thus far of Lonzo Ball is part of the reason. He has a very solid 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio and has improved his shot in the early going, hitting nearly 41 percent from beyond the arc.
The return of the veteran Rondo, who is a four time All-Defensive Team member, will immediately improve what has been a lackluster team defensive effort at this point. His great leadership, court awareness and a 3.7 assist-to-turnover ratio will also make the offense run even smoother. Ingram, a third year small forward, who averaged 16.1 points per game in his second season, could be on the verge of stardom with a veteran group around him.
With the next two games against sub-. 500 teams, the Lakers have a good chance to enter October at 3-5. Moving forward the Lakers certainly appear to be a team that will significantly improve over their 35-47 record from last season. The Lakers haven't finished above .500 since the 2012-2013 season and in a difficult Western Conference that needed 47 wins to qualify for the post season last year. Will the Lakers have enough for a post season appearance? Time will tell, but a team lead by LeBron James with a significant amount of veteran presence and young talent, will have important games in March into early April.
