T-Time: Walton and Lakers have work to do


On a dreary, rainy night in Los Angeles last week, the Lakers found themselves in must-win mode. With LeBron James sidelined, they had dropped seven of their last 10 games. A loss to the lowly Chicago Bulls would have been an utter embarrassment for the so-called “Baby Lakers” and head coach Luke Walton. A loss would have heated Walton’s seat from warm to downright sweltering, as doubts arise surrounding his offense and ability to develop the team’s young stars.  

The Lakers didn’t lose that Tuesday night, but they didn’t do much to discredit all the noise. With a retooled, defensive-minded lineup, the team coughed up 17 turnovers and shot a mediocre 8-for-26 from the 3-point range. Point guard Lonzo Ball shouldered a lion’s share of the offensive load, as Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram clinched a collective 1-for-8 from deep. Ball scored 19, while Kuzma and Ingram underwhelmed with 16 apiece.

Even when the Lakers led by 18 points with less than five minutes remaining, it was something of a mirage. The Bulls would storm back to within 5 points over the next few minutes, forcing an unusually tepid Staples Center crowd to sweat a little bit. The Lakers held off the run and won 107-100, but they impressed no one.

Since that Bulls game, the Lakers have continued their trend of lackluster play without James. When James went down with a groin injury on Christmas Day, the Lakers were in the thick of the playoff hunt, tied for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Now they’re on the outside looking in, sitting at ninth place as of Jan. 21. They’ve gone 5-8 without James, defeating only one team currently positioned to make the playoffs during that span. They needed overtime to defeat the third-seed Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.

The past month has crystallized Laker fans’ worst fears. Outside of the addition of James, the team hasn’t improved significantly from last season’s 26-win stinker.

And , of course, the Lakers’ core is still very young compared to the rest of the league. Despite adding veterans like James, Rajon Rondo and Javale McGee this off-season, the Lakers had the fifth-youngest roster at season’s start, with an average age of 25.4. But the issue isn’t that the Lakers are too inexperienced. Topping the list of youngest rosters was the Denver Nuggets, who currently have the third-most wins in the NBA. The Lakers’ real issue lies in how little its younger players have improved.

Take Ingram, for example: Many analysts pegged him as a generational scorer when he entered the 2016 NBA Draft at 18 years old. At a spry age of 21, he still has plenty of time to make that leap, but he’s regressed in multiple areas this season. As a 3-point shooter, Ingram’s percentage has fallen from 39 percent in 2017-18 to 29.7 percent this year, in line with his rookie season clip of 29.4. His player efficiency rating, which measures per-minute effectiveness, dipped from 13.8 to 11.7 in 2018 — with 15.0 as the league average.

Ingram’s statistical slump should partially be blamed on the Lakers’ offensive schemes. Though his 3-point numbers are down, Ingram remains proficient from the corner, where he shoots at a 40 percent clip. Yet, only 23 percent of his 3-point attempts have come from the corner, the lowest share since he entered the league.

In his sophomore season, Ball also failed to show significant signs of improvement. His points per game (10.2 to 9.9) and assists per game (7.2 to 5.4) numbers are both down from his rookie year. With James out, Ball averaged a solid 7.2 assists and 12.5 points per game, but his month came to an unsatisfying end when he suffered an ankle sprain against the Rockets. He’s expected to miss three to six weeks, adding to the Lakers’ injury toll.

Ironically enough, the young Laker with the least hype upon entering the league has shown the most flashes of potential stardom. Former 27th overall pick Kyle Kuzma is scoring 22.3 points per game in January, with his highest 3-point percentage — 34 percent — of any month this season. However, with James, Ball and Rondo sidelined, Kuzma remains too unseasoned to run the Lakeshow by himself.

Walton can’t be entirely blamed for the team’s January backslide. The team’s been hit hard by the injury bug, and this season’s Cavaliers show how far a team can fall once it loses James. Still, the team’s sputtering offense and lack of development land squarely on Walton’s shoulders. The longer James is out, the longer those flaws will be exposed.

Trevor Denton is a junior writing about sports. His column, “T-Time,” runs every other Wednesday.