Lakers keep focus on improvement
Kyle Kuzma has lived this before.
A LeBron James injury, resulting in an extended absence. Losses piling up quickly afterward. A looming trade deadline throwing tension into the mix.
But even though the upcoming stretch has some similarities to that 201819 period when the Lakers went 6-11 without James in the lineup, there’s a lot different, too. For one thing, said Kuzma, he has more confidence in this group.
“We have better pieces than that team, for sure,” he said. “But we just have to figure out our new style of play.”
While the Lakers were, like so many contenders, the subject of assorted rumors and trade buzz as the Thursday noon PDT trade deadline approached, the hurdles to any big deal remained in place: With a
Today: hard salary cap and few draft assets to deal, there are very few options for the front office to trade without dramatically shaking up a team that started the season 21-6 when both James and fellow All-Star Anthony Davis were healthy.
From coach Frank Vogel on down, the general expectation was the roster would get through today intact. But the existing roster, minus everyone who is injured, is struggling — which is the real issue the Lakers are staring down in the middle of playing eight games in 12 nights.
“My expectation is we’re gonna win games with this group, and I believe in the group that we have,” Vogel said. “If nothing happens, we’re gonna win games and we’ll figure out a way to win games during this stretch, and it will benefit us in the long run.”
As of Tuesday night, the benefits were less vivid than the drawbacks. The Lakers have lost three straight headed into a back-to-back against Philadelphia (without Joel Embiid) and Cleveland (without Andre Drummond, the buyout candidate widely rumored to be a Lakers target). Assuming the front office sees the roster the same way Vogel does, the Lakers will have to learn how to muddle through this stretch without Davis and James — even though the team was built to complement those stars.
After starting point guard Dennis Schröder suggested on Sunday night that the winning formula would lie in faster pace and taking more 3-point shots, the Lakers made some progress in that area against the Pelicans on Tuesday, going 18 for 37 from beyond the arc. But the rim looks that have been their bread and butter for so much of the season were harder to finish without two of the best rim finishers: The Lakers were just 11 for 22 inside the restricted zone.
The Lakers have the benefit of facing less productive big men the next two nights, although the 76ers’ Dwight Howard and the Cavaliers’ JaVale McGee (should they stay on their respective teams through the deadline) might be looking to inflict some punishment on the team they played for last season.
In the last two games, the Lakers have had extremely promising starts before tailing off. Against the Pelicans, Kuzma pointed out, they were down by just three points after a quarter.
“It seemed like everybody played the right way and then we kind of drifted off from that,” he said. “And during this time, we can’t let that happen. It doesn’t matter who scores or has the most rebounds, assists, whatever. We got to find out ways to win and continue to have good habits.”