Lakers Continue To Be As Vulnerable As Ever After Clinching No. 1 Seed

In case you haven’t noticed, the Los Angeles Lakers haven’t exactly impressed in the Orlando bubble.

Following the Lakers’ latest loss — this time a 113-97 beatdown at the hands of the Houston Rockets — the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference dropped to a paltry 2-3 since the NBA season restarted last Thursday.

While many will point to the fact that LeBron James sat out this latest loss, it still doesn’t negate the fact that the Lakers have major flaws with and without James. In fact, Los Angeles looks as vulnerable as ever despite the fact that they recently clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference.

The most glaring issue at hand for the Lakers are their shooting struggles. These struggles were on prominent display during the team’s loss to the Rockets as they went a blistering 2-of-19 (10.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

For perspective, the Lakers went 7-for-56 (12.5 percent) from 3-point range in their most recent losses to the Thunder — a game that James played in — and the Rockets. According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, that now makes the Lakers the sixth-worst 3-point shooting team in the NBA.

We’re all well aware of how 3-point shooting leads to success in today’s pace-and-space NBA. For perspective, remember that the past five NBA champions have ranked no lower than seventh in 3-point shooting percentage. The least efficient of that bunch — the 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers — shot 36.2 percent from beyond the arc. The 2019-20 Lakers are shooting 34.6 percent from the field.

Despite their more-than-underwhelming 3-point efficiency, the Lakers have been able to get by with their ridiculous overall efficiency — their .479 field goal percentage is tops in the NBA — and their stout defensive effort has led to Los Angeles allowing the second-least amount of points per game in the league.

However, their woeful 3-point shooting has somehow regressed to league-worst efficiency. Over their five Orlando games, the Lakers have converted on just 37-of-158 3-point attempts (23.4 percent). That percentage is by far the worst in the league since the restart.

While one could simply chalk this up to rust, especially considering the small sample size and the recent inclusion of newcomers J.R. Smith (10.8 minutes per game) and Dion Waiters (22.4 minutes per game) into the rotation, the fact of the matter is this — the Lakers are not going to become a great 3-point shooting team overnight.

The Lakers’ roster personnel do not feature the shooters necessary to beat opposing teams in a shootout. Los Angeles excels behind the two-man offensive game of James and Anthony Davis along with piercing defense and a penchant for fast-break baskets.

According to Slater, Los Angeles averages 18.8 fast-break points per game (second-most in the NBA) and 19.9 fast-break possessions per game (17.6 percent of the time, fourth-highest in the NBA).

But the Lakers are indeed moving slower. They had just 13 fast-break points in losses to the Thunder and Raptors and were even worse against the Rockets, scoring just 10 fast-break points.

Making matters even worse are the current absences of Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo. While these two aren’t stars and are clearly on the downside of their careers, they ate up major minutes in the Lakers’ rotation and were dependable veterans capable of handling the ball and playing competent defense (at least in Bradley’s case).

The fact that Bradley won’t return during the restart and that Rondo won’t come back until deep into the postseason — the first or second round in a best-case scenario — means the Lakers have to start a makeshift five-man lineup featuring James, Davis, Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and JaVale McGee.

The problem with that is, that five-man lineup is absolutely dreadful. In fact, it’s the Lakers’ worst five-man rotation for those that have played at least 50 minutes. Here are the numbers for this five-man grouping: 294 minutes, 111.2 offensive rating, 112.4 defensive rating, and outscored by a cumulative 13 points.

They’ve been outscored by 28 points in 41 minutes, including Saturday’s dismal start in which the Raptors raced out to a 13-0 lead. The ineptitude of this five-man rotation — along with Green and Caldwell-Pope’s inability to hit wide-open 3-pointers — often puts the Lakers in a deep hole that they can’t overcome.

This is not even mentioning the fact that the Lakers are relying on a couple of very young rotation players with zero playoff experience — Kyle Kuzma and Alex Caruso — at the end of games playing alongside the likes of James and Davis. Or the fact that the Lakers are giving a combined 33 minutes per game to two players — Waiters and Smith — who played in a combined four games before the restart.

The bottom line is this — the Lakers are the No. 1 seed and will enter the postseason as the championship favorites, at least according to betting odds.

And while everything looks pretty on the surface — the fact that James could very well win his fifth MVP award, Davis’ emergence as a No. 1 option on a championship contender and the fact that the Lakers are the No. 1 seed for the first time in a decade — the Lakers are as flawed as a championship contender could possibly be.

The Lakers may not fall in the first round to the likes of the Memphis Grizzlies or the Portland Trail Blazers (although the Blazers are a dangerous matchup due to the 3-point shooting of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum). But could they fall in the semifinals to a team like the Rockets or in the conference finals against the Clippers?

Absolutely.

On paper, the Lakers look every bit a No. 1 seed in the NBA’s toughest conference. But on the court, they’re as vulnerable and as beatable as ever.

And that is a major cause for concern in Los Angeles as the Lakers enter the postseason for the first time in seven years — whether anyone in the purple and gold is willing to acknowledge that.