How to fix the Lakers now at 21-21
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After a 125-116 loss to the Sacramento King on Jan. 12, the Los Angles Lakers find themselves struggling again this season to stay consistent
The Lakers so far has an inconsistent season with them sitting at the seventh place in the Western Conference. This happened for different reasons like too many turnovers, poor shooting, and what lineups are the most effective in each quarter. It’s a team effort to try and overcome these problems, but here are some ways the Lakers could fix this season.
Trade For Some Players before the deadline
With the NBA trade deadline ending on Feb. 10, the Lakers could make some trades to help their team move forward. Previously, they made some moves like trading Rondo and picking up Stanley Johnson who became a decent offensive contributor during the 10-day contract. The Lakers have some possibilities in what players to trade to make the roster more younger and skillful on the defensive side of the ball. Some players including Gary Trent Jr., Jerami Grant, or John Collins could help the Lakers by having an energetic player on both sides of the court. An obvious pickup Lakers could do is trade Deandre Jordan or Dwight Howard for Myles Turner. Turner would help the Lakers defensively by averaging 2.8 blocks this season which is his second-best to 3.4 blocks in the 2020-21 season. There are reports that GM (General Manager) Rob Palinka is always ‘aggressive’ to upgrading and improving the roster so it’s likely the move for Turner is not out of the question.
Head Coach Frank Vogel needs to improve his defensive scheme
The main issue for the Lakers is their defense. They’re ranked in the top 20 in the NBA with a defensive rating of 109.6 which is almost in the league's bottom half. Vogel’s defensive scheme is when he switches defensive assignments which creates a problem of mismatches and an easy basket inside. The scheme has been troublesome with Lebron James playing center and not having enough defensive-wing players besides Trevor Ariza. There have been times the Lakers give up inside scoring and wide-open shots. Vogel would have to decide on what lineup works with his defensive scheme or try to change it up against some tough competition in the Western Conference.
The Russel Westbrook Situation
The obvious issue is Westbrook’s inconsistent performance this season. During the season, Westbrook has glaring issues with averaging 4.4 turnovers per game and averaging 28.2 in 3-point percentages. These problems have affected the Lakers this season with Lebron scoring 30+ points in 19 games which are leading the NBA currently. As the Lakers are now 21-21, Westbrook is rumored to be in talks of being traded. This outcome is unlikely to happen, but anything could happen. There is another decision with benching Westbrook to facilitate the Laker’s bench. The issue with this is if Westbrook’s ego would allow it, but in interviews, he would say that he would do anything to help the team succeed. It’s similar to 2016 Hall of Famer Allen Iverson who didn’t want to be benched by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2009.
If the Lakers don’t improve moving forward this season, the likelihood of making the playoffs is hard to predict when the end of the season arrives.
