LOS ANGELES — After a six-point loss to the Clippers on Thursday night, the Lakers turned in a few self-evaluations.
LeBron James on the team: “I thought all night we played the right way.”
Russell Westbrook on his own night: “Solid. Played hard. All you can ask for.”
Coach Darvin Ham on the game-to-game growth: “I’m happy. I’ll sleep well. I won’t be angry or depressed.”
It’s presumptuous, however, to think Lakers fans will be feeling the same way after an 0-2 start. The team might have played the Clippers tougher than the Warriors just two nights before, but some serious shortcomings have been highlighted in both games – continuing preseason concerns that are dragging over into the games that count.
Through their first two games, the Lakers have the lowest offensive rating in the NBA (94.5 points per 100 possessions). While the small sample size has come against two expected title contenders and with a mostly made-over roster, the early results have been jarring: The Lakers are 19 for 85 from 3-point range, contributing to their 38.8% shooting overall.
The Lakers dominated key categories against the Clippers, most impressively winning the turnover battle 23-10 and scoring 21 points off of giveaways. At their most impressive, they were speeding up the court on fast-break opportunities, staging multiple comebacks from double-digit deficits.
On the other hand, there were many points left on the table: The Lakers missed 23 shot attempts directly after a Clippers turnover or a defensive rebound. Ham acknowledged those momentum-killing misses, but he said he expects his team to tough it out.
“I mean, it’s human nature to be disappointed if you get a huge stop and you’re running and the ball is humming around, player to player, guy shoots it and it doesn’t go down,” he said. “Yeah, it stings a little bit. But nobody is going to feel sorry for you.”
The biggest reason Ham has held out hope for his team is QSQ, a metric that measures shot quality based on a number of factors. Ham said after the season-opening loss against Golden State that the Lakers’ shot quality was the highest of all four teams that played that night, including the Warriors.
But that might be a glass-half-full approach to looking at the issue: According to NBA tracking data, the Lakers have made just 13 of 58 of their 3-pointers (22.4%) in which a defender is 4 feet or farther away (“open” or “wide open” by NBA metrics).
While Westbrook has drawn a lot of attention, especially in the wake of his 0-for-11 night (0 for 6 from deep) against the Clippers, it’s worth noting that other presumptive shooters haven’t delivered on their 3-point attempts either: Patrick Beverley (2 for 11), Lonnie Walker IV (2 for 12) and Kendrick Nunn (3 for 10). Even James, who shot nearly 36% from long range last season, is just 5 for 18.
The team said Thursday that the disappointing percentages haven’t changed the message: Keep firing away. Ham’s system of four-out, one-in is in part dependent on the threat of the outside shot.
“We probably took a couple of bad shots, but that’s part of the game,” said Walker, who scored a game-high 26 points while shooting 9 for 21 overall. “We’re only human. We can’t be perfect. But it’s only game two. I think as more and more of the season progresses we are going to find our rhythm as a team and we’re going to connect.”
That might give the Lakers more faith if that was the only problem.
Related Articles
Swanson: Clippers, Lakers heading in different directions
Balanced Clippers hold off Lakers in Kawhi Leonard’s return
Lakers coach Darvin Ham deftly handles controversial quotes from his stars
Game Day: Yes, Shaq, the Clippers can win
Alexander: Lakers’ ever-present drama resumes
Especially going against the Clippers, the Lakers also felt their lack of depth at wing. That has only become more dire with an injury to Troy Brown Jr., who has already missed the preseason and the first two games. Matt Ryan, who earned the last spot on the roster the weekend before the season started, played 12½ minutes. Against 6-foot-7, 225-pound Kawhi Leonard, the Lakers most often deployed 6-3 Westbrook and 6-6 Juan Toscano-Anderson, both of whom weigh at least 15 pounds less.
Southern California News Group confirmed that Moe Harkless, a 10-year veteran who was recently waived by Houston, worked out on Wednesday for the Lakers, who are considering bolstering their wing defense (The Athletic was first to report the meeting).
The most attention, of course, is being directed at Westbrook, who couldn’t hit a shot at a time when notable NBA voices are weighing in on his apparent lack of joy on the court. But Westbrook competed on the defensive end with five steals, which was enough for James to rally support behind his embattled teammate.
“I’ve had bad shooting nights. Everybody in this league has had bad shooting nights. Who cares?” James said. “I thought he played a great game. Defensively he was in tune. He was locked in. He pushed the tempo. … He just didn’t make any shots. And that’s fine. But flush it down the toilet and get ready for Sunday.”
The Lakers might be able to flush it looking ahead – but fans might not be so forgiving without a quick turnaround.