LeBron James has found the culprit behind the Lakers’ average start to the season.
LeBron James candidly spoke about the Lakers struggling with injuries at the end of their road trip where they were thoroughly beaten by the OKC Thunder. James believes the lack of depth due to injury has caused the healthy players to get worn down.
“You could see the bodies we don’t have start to wear on us, especially against a team like OKC.”
The Lakers went into the Thunder game missing four rotational players. Jarred Vanderbilt (heel) is yet to play this season but is nearing a return. Gabe Vincent (knee) hasn’t been available since the first two weeks of the season, while Cam Reddish (groin) saw his great start to the season undone by an untimely injury. Rui Hachimura (nose) is also out, along with Jaxson Hayes (elbow). Anthony Davis is also playing through a hip/groin injury.
Four of those five players are reliable rotational pieces for the Lakers, with Hayes falling in and out of lineups depending on the matchup. Even if fans don’t want to tolerate the Lakers’ injury excuse for another season, it’s hard to say it’s not true given the number of players currently unable to play.
Could The Problem Be Something Else?
Injuries are a part of the game. Good teams often find a way to soldier through times when the team is bogged down with many injuries, but that isn’t an exact science. We just saw the Bulls beat the Bucks tonight without Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. It’s entirely possible to beat teams when struggling with injuries, but the Lakers haven’t been able to do so. All of their nine losses this season have come against teams that are above .500.
It’s natural to blame coaching whenever a team struggles. Darvin Ham is feeling the heat from Laker fans right now, as they’re flooding social media with posts full of criticisms. The Lakers haven’t developed an offensive identity since Ham took over the team, struggling to score consistently last season and again this year. Their success has been predicated on his defense, but in games against the 76ers and the Thunder, it’s proven to be easily fallible by an elite team.
Ham’s rotations have been heavily criticized, but that is a point where he deserves some leeway. Injuries always end up hurting the continuity of lineups, with Ham trying his best to adjust to in-game situations with his lineups. Unfortunately, he’s making the wrong adjustments more often than not, hurting the team. It started with the 30-minute restriction he put LeBron James on for precisely one game, one they could’ve won if James stayed in.
The Lakers won’t hire a fourth coach in five years, especially when Ham is coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance and the team is above .500 right now. But 11-9 isn’t enough for a top-six seed in the West right now, meaning most teams in the West can outpace the Lakers this season.
injuries are a concern, but that’s something the Lakers deal with every season. Maybe this puts a stop to their possible trade negotiations to give up multiple players for a star such as Zach LaVine, as depth is going to be the key to keeping the Lakers afloat this season.
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