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Los Angeles Lakers: Five ways the Lakers can be even better

By Ben McDonnell

PORTLAND, OREGON - DECEMBER 06: LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers speak during a time out in the second half of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on December 06, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. The Lakers won 136-113. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - DECEMBER 06: LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers speak during a time out in the second half of the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center on December 06, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. The Lakers won 136-113. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Lakers are off to their best start in years, currently sharing the best record in the league with Milwaukee at 24-4. However, when watching the team, and looking at some stats, there are a few areas where improvement may help this team reach new heights.

1. Ball Security

At this point in the season, it hasn’t become a problem that has severely hurt the Los Angeles Lakers, but in close games against top teams, it could be something that decides a game, or even a series. As of right now, the Lakers are 15th in the league in turnovers, averaging 15.2 a game.

This does not seem to be improving either as L.A. has turned the ball over the second-most in the league over the last three games (18 per game). Sloppy passing and carelessness with the ball are giving teams extra chances on offense, and recently it has been a lot of extra chances. The Lakers are 13th in the league in points given up as a result of turnovers.

2. Free Throw Shooting

This one should sound quite familiar to Laker fans as last year the purple and gold posted the second-worst free throw percentage in the league at just under 70%. This year, despite Anthony Davis‘s excellent percentage at the line, there hasn’t been much of a jump in the overall free throw shooting.

Right now the Lakers are 28th in the league in free throw percentage at 72.7%. This is an exceptionally big problem when you consider how the offense is run.

The Lakers have the highest points in the paint average per game, and a high volume of points in the paint tends to draw contact which leads to a lot of foul calls. With that free throw percentage, L.A. is missing easy point opportunities.

3. Three-Point Efficiency

As I just stated, the offense is primarily run from the inside out so why is this a problem? The Lakers are by no means a three-point shooting team, averaging 30.4 threes attempted a game, which is 24th in the NBA. However, they are also in the bottom half in three-point percentage, shooting 35.7%.

Even though the Lakers are not taking a large number of threes compared to the rest of the league, they still account for over one-third of L.A.’s total shots. When dealing with that much of the offensive output, the efficiency needs to be higher.

4. Defense against the Fast Break

This one may come as a surprise to a lot of Laker faithful, as the defense has played lights out so far this year; it certainly was a surprise to find out that the Lakers are 27th in the league in opponents fast-break points. At this moment this seems to be the only glaring weak spot of the defense, but it should be worth a look.

The high number of turnovers could also play a hand in setting up fast breaks for opposing teams, but not all turnovers create fast breaks. This could cause problems later on as fast breaks can lead to quick buckets, and can begin a rally for a team that is trailing. The last thing the L.A. defense wants to do is let teams back in games, so this is something the Lakers have to watch out for.

5. Offensive Rebounding

With the good inside presence the Los Angeles Lakers bring, it is surprising that they are struggling a little bit on the offensive glass.

The team ranks 17th in the league in offensive rebounds per game. Second chance buckets off offensive boards can sometimes be the difference in tight games, so L.A. needs to improve on setting up those opportunities.

Next. Way-too-early look at who the Lakers could trade. dark

Those five categories were the most obvious areas where I saw the Los Angeles Lakers needed to improve. L.A. has a very tough stretch to finish out the month of December, four of their five remaining opponents are well over .500. The first of those games should be a great one against the Bucks, Thursday night in Milwaukee.

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