The Los Angeles Lakers have dealt with a multitude of injuries this season that have really hindered them after a strong start to the year. Austin Reaves is out at least a month, LeBron James missed the first part of the year, and the team’s role players have been in and out with minor ailments all season long.
These constant changes to the lineup and rotations have made it difficult for the Lakers to establish a consistent rhythm and really nail down who they are as a team. The team’s defense, which had been surprisingly solid to start the season, has fallen off a cliff and the offense has been inconsistent at best.
Outside of a game or two, the Lakers haven’t had their full roster available to them at any point this season and while James acknowledged how difficult this makes things, he is still not willing to use that as an excuse for the Lakers’ struggles.
“We haven’t had a full team all year. I don’t know. Maybe one game we had a full roster. Maybe even not,” LeBron said after the Lakers’ latest blowout loss to the Detroit Pistons. “We got some very important guys out right now. Obviously, I started the year being out. Having our All-Star two-guard out and Rui’s now out. Gabe’s been out for a minute. Jaxson [Hayes] just came back.
“It’s been a lot of in and out. That’s very hard to get a rhythm of chemistry on the floor with guys that you know you’re going to play with every night. Guys you know you’re going to come in with subs and patterns and things like that. There’s no excuse. We’ve still got to go out and execute.”
Unfortunately for the Lakers, no one is going to feel sorry for them and they will continue to get their opponent’s best shot every night on the court. The injuries obviously make things tougher, but other players will simply have to step up in their absence though that is easier said than done when talking about replacing someone like Reaves.
The Lakers have proven they can win games when players are down and this team has to figure out how to push through and come together through this rough stretch. There is still plenty of time this season for this team fix their issues and get back on track and it will be on James and Luka Doncic to lead that charge.
LeBron James willing to play more on-ball for Lakers
James has been deployed in more of an off-ball role this season than he has at any other time in his career. But he is willing to take the reins a bit more as an on-ball creator if that’s what is needed for the Lakers to win.
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