The Lakers have secured the No. 1 seed of the Western Conference, but they haven’t played their best basketball.
Let’s look at some of the things that the team can improve on their road to a new NBA championship.
The 3-Point Shooting
The NBA has turned into a three-point driven league in the last decade. Every team that has won the championship since 2011 has been a top 11 team in 3 point percentage. The Lakers are 24th in that category overall, and dead last inside the bubble.
To make it even clearer, the Lakers have shot 23% from three since entering the bubble, and no other team has shot below 30 percent. If they want to win the championship, they need to turn it around come playoff time; Just check BetQL’s picks for every game, and you’ll see this team has room for improvement.
The Starting Lineup Hasn’t Been as Dominant
In the first four games inside the bubble, the starting lineup has been outscored by 28 points in 41 minutes. And that is with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. This can be explained by looking at how the individuals have been struggling.
Danny Green has shot 20% from the field from three in the 5 games the team has played, and at one point he missed 13 consecutive threes. LeBron James has not been scoring or as effective as he has been all season, scoring below his average in all of his games. He also hasn’t managed to get 10 or more assists, mostly because of the struggles his teammates have.
Coldwell-Pope and McGee have not made any impact. Anthony Davis has been the only starting player that has been extremely good, scoring when he wants. The team needs the rest of the regular season games to find their rhythm for the playoffs.
Figure Out the Rotation
Through 5 games, the team has played 14 different players.
It looks like the team still needs to figure out how to fill Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo’s role, and with many of the players struggling to find their rhythm, the head coach Frank Vogel will have a tough decision to make for the playoffs.
What’s the most important aspect that the team needs to improve to win a championship?
Featured Image: NBA.com
