The LA Lakers should be worried about this situation.
The Los Angeles Lakers are the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference with a 25-18 record. They are making tweaks to try and build a solid squad around LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the duo has delivered the club one championship early in their tenure together.
The Lakers have spent the seasons since their championship-delivering campaign in 2019-20 trying to reach the mountaintop of the NBA again. They’ve gotten in their own way by continuously making poor roster decisions.
While the organization is starting to make positive moves, could it be too little, too late for the Lakers? James is getting older, and he’s doing something that is out of character for one of the best players of all time.
It’s nearly an annual occurrence when those around the NBA — whether it be fans or media — look at why the Lakers aren’t further ahead in the standings or whatever it may be before starting to place blame.
Typically, that blame falls on a certain player or two, or a head coach. However, rookie head coach JJ Redick has been solid, given his first job came in the worst possible circumstance with the Lakers, rather than another team in another market.
One issue that is being found is James’ negative plus-minus. When he is on the floor, the team is mathematically worse.
He is a minus-109 in the box score this season. He’s only been a negative in the box score during two seasons, that being his rookie season and in 21-22.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon recently discussed the matter on an episode of “The Hoop Collective.”
“Anecdotally I would suspect it is because LeBron has been so poor on defense this year,” Windhorst claimed.
MacMahon agreed with the claim from Windhorst, providing some data behind the judgment.
“The answer is when he is on the court, their defense is 115.3 points per 100 possessions, which in the league would be in the bottom half. 115.3 is the exact rating of the Chicago Bulls,” MacMahon added.
“I don’t think he’s washed either, to be clear, it’s the second time in his career his time has been negative with him on the court at all. The only other time that happened was in his rookie year.
“My point is we are talking about something that hasn’t happened for literally a generation.”
Technically, James is negative over the course of the season for the third time in his career. And that can change throughout the second half of the season, too.
Again, the Lakers typically have some sort of scapegoat or glaring issue. Usually, James is a known consistent force for the club. However, his defense has been an issue this season.
The 40-year-old forward can turn things up defensively, especially as the season winds down, given the amount of effort he will be able to give. Davis is a Defensive Player of the Year talent. With James and Davis sharing the floor, they should be able to be a plus in the box score.
So, in short, yes, the Lakers can absolutely turn their defense around when James is on the floor. As MacMahon mentioned, this is an anomaly from the four-time champion and best player of all time.
Jarred Vanderbilt’s return to the hardwood will help in the defensive regard, too, as will Dorian Finney-Smith — who the club acquired via trade this season.
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