Los Angeles Lakers: The three things we’ve learned with LeBron James out
By Jason Reed
1. Luke Walton might not be the right coach
Those that have been down on Luke Walton are enjoying this skid as an eye-opener to Walton apologists that continued to stress that Walton is the right coach for the Lakers. Quite frankly, even I thought this would be the year in which Walton emerged as a legitimately good coach in the NBA.
Walton’s weird rotations and usage of players has been prevalent all season long. However, with the team being pretty successful, especially compared to the last five years, the spotlight really was not shining on how Walton was doing as a coach.
However, in the last seven games, it has become really obvious that some of the rotations that Walton runs are just plain absurd. Take the team’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves as the perfect example.
With Kyle Kuzma out, Walton turned to a starting frontcourt of Ivica Zubac and JaVale McGee to try and counteract the Timberwolves’ size. This created an obvious scoring hole down low with two big men that cannot create their own looks and shot.
As a result, the duo played a combined 34 minutes and the Lakers spent more time running a smaller lineup to overcome the scoring gap, something the team should have done from the opening tip.
Things like that, and his decision to bench Julius Randle for Larry Nance Jr. last season, showcase that Walton might be trying to get a little too fancy in his decision making.
With LeBron James back in action, the Lakers might just rely on him to dictate things. However, if the Lakers want a coach that will set better rotations, it is time to start looking elsewhere.