LAKERS PRE-BREAK REVIEW
KEY MOMENT: When the Lakers hired Luke Walton as their head coach, which has created both a positive working environment and team structure. Walton and the Lakers would admit he’s a work in progress, like most first-year coaches. But with coaching influences tracing from Arizona (Lute Olson), Phil Jackson (Lakers) and Steve Kerr (Golden State), Walton has blended his basketball expertise and calm personality to help his young players develop better habits. Walton also has toed the line well between providing positive reinforcement for mistakes and strict accountability for poor play.
MVP: Lou Williams. While 30-year-old doesn’t represent the Lakers’ long-term future, he has given them a fighting chance in many games with his prolific scoring off the bench (18.6 points in 24.2 minutes per game). He helps the Lakers climb out of early deficits and has become their go-to closer. To the frustration of defenders everywhere, Williams seemingly draws a whistle every time he shoots. He’s averaging career-highs in points and shooting percentage (44.4), and the team raves about his leadership qualities.
BIGGEST SURPRISE: Many in the organization believe rookie center Ivica Zubac has the most upside of any member of their young core. While the 19-year-old rookie out of Croatia still has raw skills, the Lakers are excited about his potential as a defender, post player and jump shooter. It’s too early to say if Zubac could become another Marc Gasol, a raw undeveloped European center who eventually morphed into an NBA All-Star. But the Lakers believe Zubac has the tools to become something special.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: There are plenty of things $136 million can buy, including a poor early return on the free-agent signings of Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov. Walton already has pulled them from the starting lineup. Though some of that is Walton wanting to develop his young roster, neither Deng nor Mozgov have done enough to make the decision difficult. Mozgov’s presence (7.4 points, 4.9 rebounds) hasn’t been enough to elevate the Lakers’ poor defense, and while the team likes Deng’s mentorship with rookie forward Brandon Ingram, the veteran has not provided much competition at that spot with a career-low 7.8 points on 39 percent shooting.
LAKERS POST-BREAK PREVIEW
KEY TO THE FINAL EIGHT WEEKS: Play the kids. It will accelerate their development and teach them how to secure games in crunch time. They need to rectify their mistakes to build confidence, which would give Walton and the front office some clarity about their potential. Keep Mozgov and Deng on the bench as much as possible. If they are not traded, do the same with Nick Young and Williams. And if the kids crash the car after being handed the keys, do not fret. For every loss that piles up, the Lakers only increase their odds of keeping their top-three protected first-round draft pick.
TRADE POSSIBILITIES: The Lakers do not want to break up their young core since it takes time to develop, and they would have to package several of them together to get much value in return. So look for the Lakers to trade Williams to another team before Thursday’s trade deadline, both to acquire more youth and free up more playing time for their less-experienced players. Young is another trade candidate, though Sixth Man of the Year candidate Williams probably has more appeal to contenders than a player who calls himself “Swaggy P.”
BIGGEST CONCERN: Will the Lakers keep their draft pick? It has to stay in the top three, or they owe the pick to Philadelphia as part of the infamous Steve Nash deal in 2012. Given the Lakers’ recent free agency strikeouts and CBA changes that figure to limit player movement, their quickest path toward rebuilding is probably adding another talented young player.
To a lesser extent, the Lakers have to provide some indications they can play better defense. They have been just as awful in that area as they were under Mike D’Antoni (2012-14) and Byron Scott (2014-16). While some of this problem can only be corrected through roster moves, some it can also be addressed through better effort and habits.
SCHEDULE: The Lakers resume play Friday in Oklahoma City, but they will spend much of the next two months closer to home instead of taking late-night flights in cold, East Coast cities. The Lakers play 16 of their 24 remaining games at Staples Center, which should have them feeling more energetic and help a youthful roster feed off the energy of a supportive crowd. It could still be a bumpy road, though. The Lakers play half of their games against playoff-caliber teams, and they’ve only gone 11-21 against teams with records below .500.
MARK MEDINA
Contact the writer: mmedina@scng.com
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