The Los Angeles Lakers' current situation is obviously something they didn't expect. Since winning the midseason, the team has been in a losing spiral, losing 10 of their last 13 games and moving all the way to 11th place in the West. On top of that, the Lakers today don't see the light of day for the team to get out of the mess, and there are too many discordant voices within the team.
In fact, as early as last season, the Los Angeles Lakers had a lot of problems, but due to the reorganization of the roster before the trade deadline, these problems were covered up by the Lakers. In addition, the Lakers made great efforts in the late stage of the regular season last season, not only entered the playoffs, created the "Black Seven Myth", but also played all the way to the Western Conference Finals. For Lakers management, the fact that the team can change so much also gives them more confidence in planning the roster.
Building on the momentum of reassertion last season, Lakers management made a number of trade changes in the offseason, and this operation was praised in many ways. In terms of recruitment, the Lakers got Hayes, Wood, Reddish, and Vincent, the wonder player who helped the Heat reach the Finals last season. In terms of contract extensions, the Lakers gave Reaves a contract that was not too high, and also made Russell give up the trade veto, and the team has been working well in terms of personnel rotation and salary space.
Even in the early stages of the new season, the Lakers have had a good performance, and with the process of last season as a foreshadowing, the Lakers do not have too high a record to pursue, as long as they can guarantee playoff qualification. However, with the Lakers' "casual" mentality, their fighting spirit has gradually been eroded, even if they won an entertaining midseason championship, but the Lakers' slump and slackness in the game have become more and more, and with the decline of the record, the Lakers have caused a crisis of infighting.
The reason why the Lakers are in this predicament has something to do with the team's injuries. Vincent, as the focus of the Lakers' offseason recruitment, did not play many games for the Lakers after the start of the season, and even underwent surgery again after a brief comeback, as for when he will return, it depends on the recovery status. Under such a premise, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham can only constantly adjust the starting lineup, and they have deployed 10 starting lineups so far this season.
Constantly adjusting the starting lineup is a solution to deal with player injuries, and James also said in the interview that the team is now missing too many teammates, and such an incomplete roster cannot build cohesion. James's words obviously have some truth, but for the rest of the Lakers, they don't use injuries as an excuse for losses, Davis, Reaves, and Prince have all said that they can't lose their fighting spirit because of injuries. From this point of view, there is a big division within the Lakers, and this is one of the reasons why they have been exposed to infighting.
In fact, for the Lakers, although they have suffered some injuries, they really shouldn't make excuses for losing because of injuries. This season's Heat has also suffered injuries, Herro has been out of action for many games before returning in a hurry, and Butler still has no accurate return time, as far as the starting lineup is concerned, the Heat have played 19 starting lineups. But looking at the Heat's record, they rushed from the bottom of the East to the fourth in the East, showing a tenacious fighting spirit. Even the Grizzlies, who welcomed Morant's comeback, also showed excellent upward momentum.
The Lakers' roster rotation is deeper than the Heat's, and it has more adjustment directions, but as the head coach of the Lakers, Ham has not created a solid core rotation system for the Lakers. Although the Lakers are forced to constantly adjust the starting lineup, they should be like the Heat, no matter what kind of lineup they adjust, they need to ensure the core tactics, but Ham has not been able to do this.
Perhaps it was last season's success that made Ham a little complacent, leading to an optimistic mindset when the team was in trouble this season, but in terms of adjustment, Ham hasn't done well last season. Even if the Lakers encountered many problems last season, Ham's tactics can still ensure the balance of offense and defense, but this season, in order to ensure the defensive intensity of the Lakers, Ham upgraded the backcourt height again and again, putting Russell and Reaves on the bench, and this adjustment was followed by a decline in the Lakers' offensive efficiency. The Lakers currently rank 21st in the league in offensive efficiency and 28th in three-point shooting percentage, which is one of the reasons why Ham is now questioned by Lakers players.
It's not just Ham's tactical adjustments that have affected the current state of the Lakers, but James, as a core player, should also be responsible for the current situation of the Lakers. Since the start of the season, James has become the league's longest-running player and has continued to perform well statistically. However, in terms of leading the team, James has not been able to bring more victories to the Lakers, and even in some games, James's attitude to the game has also affected the state of other Lakers players.
Maybe James wants to make the younger Davis the core of the Lakers, and Davis's advantage on the offensive end is also better, but from a tactical point of view, James is the most critical part of the Lakers. Only when James uses his ability to attract and tear apart the defense can the Lakers' offense be revitalized and play a more fluid offense instead of the slow positional offense that is now. In the past, James continued to lead his teammates on the court, but this season, James has not done a good enough job at this point, or not focused enough.
Judging from the current rotation of the Lakers' roster, their strength is far more than that, but if they can't solve the problems in front of them, the Lakers won't go far, and even entering the playoffs has become a luxury. Perhaps for the Lakers management, they are also a little puzzled by the current situation, but they don't know the direction of adjustment, and if they continue to fall like this, the Lakers will only sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire of loss.