Lakers’ Early Crisis: Can JJ Redick and LA Fix What’s Gone Wrong?

December 11, 2024

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a tough stretch, and it’s clear they’ve hit a critical point in their season. After a promising start, they’ve now slipped to 13-11 and are clinging to the eighth spot in the West.

As Jovan Buha of The Athletic points out, the Lakers’ struggles over the past 10 games have been pretty dire: a 3-7 record with a brutal 19-point average margin of defeat. They’ve been dealing with offensive and defensive inefficiencies, and let’s not forget about the injury hiccups to key players like Austin Reaves, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis.

After their most recent win over the Portland Trail Blazers, coach JJ Redick admitted the team’s been doing some “internal auditing,” trying to figure out what’s working and what’s not.

Honestly, the list is long. Their offense, once ranked among the league’s best, has dropped to 28th over the past 10 games. The defense? 24th.

That’s a recipe for disaster, especially when you’ve got superstars like LeBron and Davis supposed to anchor both ends of the floor.

So, why the drop-off? Buha highlights a few factors: tougher competition, a drop in efficiency from the big names (Davis is dealing with plantar fasciitis, LeBron’s shot is off), and injuries.

But perhaps the biggest issue is the roster itself — too many question marks in the supporting cast, and not enough depth to weather the storm when key players are down.

Redick has certainly faced some criticism, especially with the Lakers’ inconsistent effort, but it’s clear the roster is in need of a major shakeup. Whether that means getting healthy or making a trade, something needs to give.

Buha suggests that the Lakers will likely explore the trade market soon — maybe even use their first-round picks to find the missing pieces that could push them back into contention. But, let’s be real: even with a trade, they’re not going to compete with the likes of Boston or Oklahoma City without more than just a tweak here and there.

As the season wears on, the Lakers can only hope that they’ve hit rock bottom and the only way is up.

But with their difficult schedule ahead, staying afloat in the Play-In race might be the best they can do unless they seriously adjust the roster or finally get their stars firing on all cylinders. Time will tell.