SO FAR they are 2-3 in the bubble. They narrowly defeated the Clippers and dominated the Utah Jazz but lost badly to the Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Is there reason to worry?
It’s not panic time but there is some cause for concern. The Lakers were just interested in nailing that first seed and now that they have it, they can afford to coast and experiment.
But the area where they are in deep trouble is in the shooting department. You know why?
Even if you decide to take certain games off by experimenting with line-ups, you still have to shoot that ball. Nobody intentionally tries to miss shots just because you don’t care if you win or lose. On the contrary, with no pressure to win, most players fare even better.
But with the Lakers, the opposite seems to be the case.
LEBRON. Lebron James hasn’t really been quite himself so far. In the first two games, he shot 13-for-34 overall and averaged only 18 points. In the Thunder loss James went 0-out-of-5 from the three-point range. He is currently shooting at 27 percent from the rainbow territory.
On an interview the other day, he alluded to the fact that the experience is something new to him, being in a bubble and clinching the first seed in the West.
Well, guess what, King? In case you failed to notice, nobody has been in this situation before. Everyone in the NBA bubble is experiencing a lot of firsts. And where Lebron goes, it seems so does his team.
Get this—they are the bubble’s worst in the following categories—points per game, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free throw percentage.
By the way, the official excuse when he was out against the Rockets was that he was resting his groin, alluding to a minor injury. This is just baloney. Why can’t he just admit he’s taking a day off and load management. It’s actually perfectly fine, Lebron. At your age and at your stature, nobody is going to question that. Stop the drama, for Christ’s sake, and focus on the prize.
What is cause for concern though is the atrocious shooting. This team was built around Lebron and Lebron needs shooters. Though they are missing Avery Bradley, they still have Danny Green who is a three-point specialist. But Danny has only been 4-20 from 3-point range and didn’t even make a single three-point attempt in the Rockets game. They have recruited the mercurial J.R. Smith who has familiarity with LeBron and can shoot the rock, but J.R. went 0-out-of-5 in their last two games from 3-point range.
DAVIS. It doesn’t help their cause going into the playoffs that Anthony Davis has been an enigma of sorts. Though he has been the most consistent scorer and the lone bright spot on the Lakers, he seems to have a habit of disappearing when he is needed the most.
Against the Clippers he only scored two points in the fourth quarter. And during the Rockets game when Lebron rested, he had a total of seven turnovers and managed only eight shot attempts against his much shorter Rockets opponents.
This would have been a great opportunity for him to shine through and show that when Lebron is off the court, he can still dominate and carry the load for this team.
Let’s hope they can end this shooting slump just in time for the playoffs to start.
VERBATIM. “The law of averages plays out. And I’m okay with getting all these misses out of the way right now.”—Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel (www.si.com)
LAST ROUND. It’s on Prosecutor Benjo Luther Macion, who celebrates his birthday next week. Cheers!