The Los Angeles Lakers are setting the stage for a season that will take fans on an emotional rollercoaster. Los Angeles is winning at a pace that could yield its first 50-win season since 2019-20, but it's also been the epitome of streaky through 19 games.
The unfortunate reality facing the Lakers as they evaluate their options for improvement is that the primary reason they've been successful falls in line with why they've struggled to be consistent.
Los Angeles is currently 11-7, having secured wins over the likes of the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, and Sacramento Kings. It started the season by winning three straight games and went on a six-game winning streak to improve to 10-4.
Unfortunately, those four losses were sustained in a period of five games—featuring two of their three stretches of at least two consecutive losses.
Streaky as they've been, the one constant in Los Angeles has been an elite level of play on offense. Anthony Davis and LeBron James have led a team that currently ranks No. 4 in the NBA in offensive rating and No. 7 in field goal percentage.
With an abundance of scoring threats at their disposal, the Lakers have overwhelmed opponents with their offensive talent—and sadly seen the pitfalls of the lack of reliable defenders.
Lakers' lack of two-way players yielding polarizing results in 2024-25
Los Angeles currently has six different players averaging at least 11.7 points per game. That level of balance is nothing short of remarkable, especially when one considers that Davis is averaging 29.2 points per contest and James is checking in at 22.9.
For as balanced as the offense has been on the scoring front, the lack of reliable defensive players has proven to be their undoing.
Davis is one of the best defensive players in the NBA, but that often covers up the flaws of those around him. This isn't to say that any one player is responsible for the Lakers' shortcomings, but defensive consistency hasn't been a quality with many other players on the roster.
That includes a number of the players who are giving the Lakers regularly impressive scoring numbers—five of whom are putting up at least 10.1 field goal attempts per game.
With six players in need of regular touches and shot attempts, the second unit has inevitably struggled to generate consistent offense. Gabe Vincent is shooting 30.3 percent from the field and Max Christie is knocking down just 30.0 percent of his threes, but they're also averaging a combined 7.5 field goal attempts per game.
The Lakers would benefit from Christie and Vincent shooting consistently, thus allowing their defensive prowess to be featured across more minutes, but shots aren't exactly available to them.
Compounded by the fact that key playmakers and scorers are widely regarded as underwhelming defenders, the Lakers' flaw is found in its strength. They have a surplus of options on offense, but too few are reliable on defense—and not enough shots exist for the best defenders on the roster to make their two-way mark.
It's admittedly unclear what the resolution is at this stage of the season, but if the offensive-minded players fail to step up on defense, then it might be time to create space for the defenders to thrive.
The alternative is going through an 82-game schedule attempting to win shootouts—a formula that has rarely translated well to the postseason.
