Getty Darvin Ham, Los Angeles Lakers
This season hasn’t begun as the Los Angeles Lakers would have hoped, and it’s clear that some of last season’s issues are still prevalent within the team’s roster construction.
As such, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz believes Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office should push their remaining trade chips into the center of potential trade negotiations with the hope of obtaining some fresh talent that will help Los Angeles compete for a championship this season.
If Westbrook keeps playing this way… I don’t think the Lakers should trade him.
“The Lakers shouldn’t let moderate success with Russell Westbrook coming off the bench fool them into thinking this team can compete for a championship, which is the only thing that matters with LeBron James set to turn 38 next month. This roster still needs far more shooting, perimeter defense and a touch of playmaking to even be considered a playoff lock in the West, areas that can only be improved by shipping Westbrook and future first-round picks out…just battling for a play-in spot shouldn’t be good enough for (LeBron) James, Anthony Davis, and company,” Swartz wrote.
The Lakers are currently sitting 14th in the Western Conference following a 2-6 start to the season, which means if they stay on their current trajectory they will miss out on the postseason for the second straight season.
Davis Believes Teams Fear the Lakers
Despite Los Angeles’ poor start to the season, Anthony Davis still believes that plenty of teams around the league are scared of facing the Purple and Gold, simply due to the amount of talent residing on the Lakers roster.
When speaking to ESPN’S Dave McMenamin, the star forward was bullish in his belief that the Lakers are still a force.
Anthony Davis on how other teams see the Lakers, even with their 2-6 start: “We have a lot of guys that teams have to worry about. We’re not the team that our record shows. But any given night our team can play very well and explode … I know teams fear us, for sure.”
“We have a lot of guys that teams have to worry about. We’re not the team that our record shows. But any given night our team can play very well and explode. I know teams fear us, for sure,” Davis said.
Having a collection of elite talent is one thing, but finding ways to put them in a position to succeed is a totally different ball game – as the Lakers are quickly finding out. However, if Darvin Ham can continue to tweak his rotations, and Los Angeles’ continues to commit on the defensive end, the Lakers still have a chance for this roster to develop and become special.
LeBron James Urges Lakers to Focus on Defense
When facing the rebuilding Utah Jazz on November 4, the Lakers gave up 130 points in a regulation-time defeat, as their defense regressed to its lowest point of the season. When speaking to the media following the game, LeBron James was adamant that the Lakers’ best chance of success this season is via a defensive identity.
“If we defend, we’re going to give ourselves a better chance to win.” LeBron James speaks to the media after the #Lakers loss to the Jazz.
“We don’t never want it to happen, but there are some games throughout the course of an 82-game season where you obviously just don’t have it defensively. And we didn’t have it for 48 minutes. We had it in spurts. But, we know in order for us to win, we’ve gotta defend. And, tonight, I think we had a 50-40-90 offensive night, and we still lost. So, that’s why I was talking earlier in the season about ‘it’s not about the offense, we have to defend.’ Obviously, we gotta make shots, but if we defend, we’re gonna give ourselves a better chance to win,” LeBron said.
The Lakers currently rank 5th in defensive rating, so it’s obvious that LeBron wants his teammates to continue setting the tone of that side of the floor, rather than getting caught up in trying to improve their offensive numbers. The Lakers will be back in action on Sunday, November 6, when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers.