The Lakers face some burning questions as the second half of the season gets underway.
NBA fans were greeted by the news Wednesday that there are new jerseys being released for the second half of the season, and only one team has the gold Nike swoosh that signifies them as the defending champions.
The Lakers will be wearing black again, the color that in many ways defined their postseason run in 2020 when they ran rampant in their first four games wearing the “Black Mamba” jerseys. But these uniforms, known as the “Earned” kits for the 16 teams who reached the playoffs last year, are a reminder that the Lakers are going to once again have to run through the gauntlet to get “my damn respect,” as LeBron James once put it.
It’s hard to overemphasize: This will not be easy. The Lakers have one of the most difficult schedules for their remaining 35 games, which includes a seven-game road trip and eight backto-backs, mashing contests into a tight window before the playoffs open on May 18 with the play-in round. When we left off the season, the Lakers were shorthanded and looking particularly vulnerable dropping to third in the West.
Here are the questions that need answering in the second half of the year:
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the Lakers have struggled.
Even before Davis missed time with his Achilles injury, he was dragging, and there’s reason to believe that was bothering him for a while. He talked repeatedly about getting back to “the old AD,” the one who led the Lakers in scoring last regular season, and who was the unquestioned tone-setter on defense. The Lakers would like to see that, too.
Davis’ preseason goals of becoming Defensive Player of the Year and perhaps even making All-NBA might be shot for now because of the time he’s missed, but all will be right within the organization if their 28-year-old franchise big man can come back soon and at the level that made them a championship team last year. Potential matchups with DeAndre Ayton, Nikola Jokic and Rudy Gobert — not to mention Davis’ ability to guard on the perimeter — will require him to be at his peak. just hitting more of them: They’re only hitting 34% of open looks, and 37.6% of wide-open looks. They’re hitting just 36.1 percent of their catch-and-shoot 3-point opportunities, which is No. 24 in the league. The shooters on the roster are all capable of doing better, and as many of them have said, it’s a matter of trusting the work.
Who gets the nod for the playoff rotations?
Let’s assume these guys are trusted and true veterans from last season: LeBron, AD, KCP, Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso. Dennis Schröder is in, too (the 0-4 stretch without him was pretty telling). That leaves a few guys in the playing rotation that are still finding their roles come the postseason, which will have a dramatic push and pull on how certain guys get used as the Lakers saw last year with their centers. Each remaining player:
• Marc Gasol is 36 and showing it, but he has a ton of playoff experience and figures to be the best option (the Lakers have right now, anyway) for guarding true bigs outside of Davis.
• Montrezl Harrell is a dynamo off the bench in the regular season, but Vogel’s reticence to play him in closing roles speaks to a trust gap that probably stems from his defense.
• Wesley Matthews hasn’t worked out yet; maybe in the second half he can find more consistent shooting touch and therein consistent minutes.
• Markieff Morris has a better case than Matthews, as a stretch big who can shoot and rebound while playing competent defense (and bringing toughness).
• Talen Horton-Tucker is a complete wildcard — a dynamic playmaker and driver who isn’t ready for primetime on defense and can’t give spacing with his shooting.
Out of that group of five, probably three get to play in the playoffs. Maybe even just two. There’s not a lot of easy decisions.