Analysis: Lakers have had the most lineup chaos in the NBA

LOS ANGELES — It was meant arsenic a rhetorical question, but the mode LeBron James said it inferred that the Lakers don’t person an answer.

On Thursday night, James was successful the mediate of a rant astir the benignant of uncertainty that has present rocked astir teams successful the NBA, but the Lakers astir of all.

“What is our starting lineup too maine and Russ and A.D.?” helium asked, referring to Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis. “Or A.D. and Russ? Or maine and Russ? You know, we’ve some been out. So, we don’t know.”

The Lakers (16-17) don’t know.

They person utilized 18 antithetic starting lineups, the astir of immoderate squad successful the league, and they haven’t started immoderate 1 radical much than 4 times. The lone squad successful the aforesaid vicinity is Philadelphia, which has utilized 17 antithetic lineups but has been capable to play 10 games with its astir predominant group. For reference: The Lakers had conscionable 12 antithetic starting lineups passim the full 2019-20 regular season, which ended with a championship.

It doesn’t explicate each that ails the Lakers, but it does contextualize struggles similar the ones they had against the San Antonio Spurs, who throttled them, 138-110, connected Thursday night. The Spurs had conscionable six turnovers each night, crisply passing successful their strategy with the rock-solid cognition of wherever unfastened shooters would beryllium successful their scheme.

The Lakers were milling astir successful confusion, which is bound to hap when you’re doling retired 21 minutes to Isaiah Thomas and 11 minutes to Jemerrio Jones, neither of whom was connected the roster conscionable a week and a fractional ago. There was iffy connection connected closeouts and traps, oregon players looking astatine each different erstwhile the Spurs recovered different unfastened 3-point shooter. Not coincidentally, San Antonio made 18 shots from down the arc, which was 13 much than the Lakers.

A batch of teams person 1 oregon much players successful the COVID-19 protocols close now; if they person a accidental to bushed up connected the Lakers, they will.

“Teams are not coming successful present to say, ‘Well, we anticipation you guys get better, and we’ll springiness you a game,’” halfway Dwight Howard said. “As you tin see, each squad is trying to whoop our ass.”

Thrust into the caput coaching relation for an undetermined stretch, adjunct David Fizdale has been attempting to toed the enactment of holding the players accountable portion being knowing of a roster with 7 players who are either successful the COVID-19 protocols oregon nursing semipermanent injuries. The team’s champion defender, Anthony Davis, is retired for astatine slightest the adjacent month. But Fizdale seemed to relent connected his players connected Thursday night.

“They cognize I’m not giving them 1 retired oregon 1 excuse, but determination is simply a world to a analyzable antiaircraft system,” helium said. “I was truthful impressed learning it, but it’s not easy. And you’re tied together, and it’s a string. And unfortunately, this is simply a portion of the play wherever we’re getting punched portion we’re trying to fig our rhythm, continuity, togetherness. We get deed with COVID and we suffer a batch of stuff, a batch of rhythm, a batch of continuity.”

Not surprisingly, some of the most-played five-man lineups besides hap to beryllium to the teams with the champion records: Utah, Phoenix and Golden State person the five-man groups that person played the astir minutes, with each 3 posting 341 minutes oregon much this season. They are, by and large, starting lineups with hugely affirmative nett ratings, and groups that person played unneurotic not conscionable this season, but past play arsenic well.

To find the most-played Laker lineup, 1 indispensable flip each the mode to No. 90 among the NBA’s five-man listings: Westbrook, Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Avery Bradley and Talen Horton-Tucker person played 53 minutes together, posting a plus-11.8 nett rating. James isn’t adjacent successful the most-played group, and 2 of those players are unavailable close now. The Big Three of James, Davis and Westbrook person lone played 15 games together, which was surely not the plan.

Predictably, the Lakers person been dogged by important turnover issues, person mislaid their caller betterment connected the antiaircraft end, and deficiency immoderate consciousness of bushed oregon adjacent the joyousness that comes from a radical that is getting utilized to 1 another.

James said the extremity going into the play was to simply get clip unneurotic to get a consciousness for what lineups would look like. Oh, however foolish they were.

“We virtually haven’t had an accidental to log successful anything: We don’t know,” helium said. “We person nary chemistry with immoderate lineup for the elemental information that we virtually haven’t logged capable minutes.”

There are different factors astatine play here, of course, with the Lakers’ comparative property and skillsets and Westbrook’s somewhat clunky acceptable with his teammates. But adjacent successful games erstwhile Westbrook and James spell disconnected for 66 combined points similar they did Thursday, the Lakers, arsenic they are close now, can’t vie with a lower-tier Western Conference squad that astatine slightest has continuity.

Losing is adding to the fatigue the squad is feeling arsenic the coronavirus cuts a way done the roster. The Lakers can’t assistance but consciousness that the players who summation the astir momentum are the adjacent to get trapped successful the protocols: Horton-Tucker, who got stuck aft a breakout from a slump; Austin Reaves who got sick aft hitting a game-winning changeable successful Dallas; Trevor Ariza, who had conscionable started the play 5 for 5.

James’ assemblage connection passim Thursday nighttime was that of a antheral who knows helium has a losing manus astatine the poker table. There was a third-quarter play erstwhile Howard, precocious returned from protocols, fouled Derrick White astatine the rim. James threw his hands successful the air, intelligibly frustrated that Howard hadn’t kept his ain arms up with verticality, past crouched adjacent the Lakers’ sideline, caput slumped.

At 1 constituent helium was upset that helium couldn’t get connected the court. Now helium feels lonely retired there.

“It’s virtually a crapshoot each azygous clip you instrumentality a trial astatine this constituent – connected who is antagonistic and who is positive,” helium said. “You conscionable got to spot who is disposable and spell from there.”

The churn volition continue: ESPN reported that the Lakers mean to motion Darren Collison, a constituent defender who hasn’t played successful the NBA successful the past 2 years, arsenic good arsenic L.A. autochthonal and erstwhile lottery prime Stanley Johnson, who played for South Bay earlier this season. Both volition travel successful connected 10-day hardship contracts, which is simply a motion that the Lakers are not astir retired of the woods erstwhile it comes to their extent issues. They inactive haven’t gotten Head manager Frank Vogel cleared for Christmas Day, erstwhile they’ll instrumentality connected the likewise patchy Brooklyn Nets, who are inactive without All-Star Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge among others.

James called it “exciting” and “an honor” to play connected Christmas Day again. But helium didn’t fell the bare truth, either – not that helium could if helium wanted to.

“Is it going to beryllium 1 of the premier games I’m accustomed to playing successful connected Christmas? No,” helium said. “So galore guys are out. This full protocol happening has gotten the worst of a batch of teams successful our league close now. So, it won’t beryllium arsenic star-studded arsenic (some of the games) I’ve been in.”

— Kyle Goon