The Lakers are off to a rough start hovering just over .500 with a record of 14-13 which places them 6th in the Western Conference. They are 11th in defensive rating (108.2), which is down from 1st last year, and they are 23rd in offensive rating (107.6) with a net rating of -0.6 which is 18th in the NBA. So, what are the problems with this team?

Firstly, Lebron’s health is a big factor in their early season woes. He has played only 15 games out of 27 and injuries are starting to disrupt the King’s career. This is especially detrimental to the team as when Lebron plays the Lakers are on pace to win 48 games and when he doesn’t, they are on pace to win just 33 games showing how much this team relies on this 36-year-old.

Second reason is the spacing on this team specifically in certain lineups. Frank Vogel has started DeAndre Jordan in 15 games with AD, Lebron and Russ which is today’s NBA is an unforgivable mistake due to the value of spacing. Another culprit is THT who is a career 27.6% 3P shooter and he is shooting 25% from 3PT range this season. While I believe THT is talented, I do not believe he is a good fit for the Lakers as he is a guard who can’t shoot and a player like that is an abysmal fit next to Russ.

Lastly, I believe AD needs to be better. AD is statistically the worst jump shooter in the league, and he insists on taking multiple jump shots. It’s frustrating because when AD is aggressive going to the rim there are very few players in the NBA who can stop him so his insistence on taking shots, he’s not good at is hard to watch.

Now I know it’s still early in the season and the Lakers have the 2nd greatest player in history, but the Lakers have a long way to go if they want to win the championship this season.