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Lakers overview: Tracking the early trends of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and LA’s super team at Thanksgiving

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Lakers overview: Tracking the early trends of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and LA's super team at Thanksgiving

The 2012-13 NBA season. That’s the last time the Los Angeles Lakers had built a super team that could be compared to the star power or depth of the current 2021-22 roster.

It’s not just the roster but at Thanksgiving, the present-day team’s record is along the same lines as the group from nine seasons ago.

Both teams went winless in the preseason: 0-8 in 2012 and 0-6 in 2021 – and both have a .500 record at the time of the first off-day on the NBA schedule.

The star-studded 2012-13 roster, which included the Hall of Fame backcourt duo of Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash alongside a frontcourt of Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard, were 6-6 at Thanksgiving in 2012. Meanwhile, the 2021-22 team – led by the Big Three of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook – also have a .500 record at 10-10.

Yes, the current team has played eight games more but even the 20-game record of the 2012-13 group is not far off at 9-11. That campaign, nearly a decade earlier, didn’t end well for the Lakers.

Injuries and the lack of any reliable on-court chemistry derailed the entire season before a superhuman second half from the late Kobe Bryant ensured that the team made the postseason, even if it meant scraping through as the seventh seed and getting swept out in the first round. Unfortunately, the load was too heavy for a then 34-year-old Bryant. Two games before the end of the regular season, the Black Mamba tore his Achilles, an injury that all but derailed the latter years of his playing career.

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Every Lakers fan, and even NBA fan, would be hoping that the 2021-22 season for the current group doesn’t end in a similar fashion. That said, let’s take a look at some of the early trends for the Lakers season so far.

Early returns from the Russell Westbrook trade

In the 2021 offseason, the Lakers acquired superstar Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma and the draft rights to Isaiah Jackson. This deal was part of a larger five-team trade, one that looks like the Washington franchise is winning with every game.

Through the first quarter of the season, the trio of Kuzma, Harrell and Caldwell-Pope has fit quite well for the Wizards.

The duo of Kuzma (13.1) and Harrell (17.1) are averaging a combined 30.2 points while both are averaging career-highs in rebounds and assists. In fact, Harrell ranks seventh in the league on NBA.com’s Player Impact Estimate. Meanwhile, Caldwell-Pope is knocking down a career-high 2.0 3-pointers per game and can be very useful on the defensive end of the floor.

On the other hand, Russell Westbrook is averaging 20.0 points, 8.6 assists and 8.4 rebounds through 20 games. While those are great all-round numbers statistically, at least in a one against three comparison, however, the issue is Westbrook’s efficiency and impact while on the floor.

The former OKC Thunder superstar is averaging a league-high 4.9 turnovers, his most since the 2016-17 MVP season along with shooting splits of 43.1 percent from the field, 30.3 percent from beyond the arc and 69.7 percent from the free-throw line.

He was supposed to be that spark, especially during the regular season, that eased the pressure off LeBron James. Instead, his plus-minus is at an average of -2.9 through 20 games – fourth-worst on the Lakers – and led the team to a 4-7 record without James including two come-from-behind losses at the hands of the rebuilding Thunder.

Over-reliance on LeBron James

At the end of the day, despite the miles on his body, the Lakers’ chances at a title still rest solely with LeBron James and his health. If the King is near 100 percent with a decent set of players at every position around him, bet against him at your own peril.

Yes, father time is catching up to him. Just consider the number of games he’s missed due to injuries since becoming a Laker in comparison to seasons before 2018. Having said that, the one postseason he was injury-free, he led the Lakers to a championship (2020).

NBA starting lineups tonight: Lakers release abdominal strain injury report for LeBron James, could make his return against the Celtics at TD Garden

However, to keep him healthy and energized, the Lakers need to keep resting him through the season but the team doesn’t seem to be doing well without him so far. In fact, they are abysmal.

They are 6-3 with him and 4-7 without him. Their offensive rating, a stat the Lakers rank 24th in during the Thanksgiving break, with him on the floor of 111.3 would be tied for fifth-best in the league.

To preserve James, and in turn, their championship hopes, the relatively younger duo of Anthony Davis and Westbrook need to do a better job of leading the Lakers to wins when James sits.

Roster and Rotation (in)stability

In James, AD and Talen Horton-Tucker, the Lakers have only three players from last year’s roster that are still with the team.

That’s cause for concern because building roster chemistry, which is a key ingredient to play good team defence – one of Frank Vogel’s forte’s – takes time. Despite all the injuries during the 2020-21 regular season, the Lakers finished with the No. 1 defensive rating in the league because a majority of their rotation had carried over from their championship in the bubble.

So far, in the 2021-22 season, their defence ranks 19th. It’s not just that they have far too many new players which has made it difficult for the Lakers to figure out and maintain their rotation, it’s also injuries.

LeBron James has missed 11 games. Trevor Ariza, expected to play a key role, hasn’t played a single minute due to an ankle surgery he underwent during the preseason. Austin Reaves, an undrafted player from the 2021 class that the Lakers found from the rough, had been making a positive impact for the team but hasn’t played since Nov. 8 due to a hamstring strain.

Talen Horton-Tucker, missed the first 13 games due to a broken thumb, only returned to the line-up on Nov. 14. Overall through 20 games, the Lakers have used 10 different starting line-ups.

So, there’s been a lot of moving parts and it’s too early to judge the Lakers. Once they are completely healthy, what would their rotation look like? How would it perform? Will it help them contend for a title?

Head coach Frank Vogel has got a lot of questions to answer but in my opinion, it would be unfair to put him on the hot seat.

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