The damning loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder on LeBron’s record-breaking night brought forward the trade that has changed the Lakers’ trajectory in a snap of a finger. The bulk of the trade was the Lakers moving Russell Westbrook and a protected 2027 1st round pick to the Jazz and in return receiving Utah’s Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt while also taking on former Laker, D’Angelo Russell from the Timberwolves. This trade (along with trading Kendrick Nunn for Rui Hachimura) has brought new life and energy into the team, where they have succeeded on newfound shooting, optimal lineups, and improved defense.
We Got Shootas!
The Lakers’ shooting after the deadline has surprisingly stayed around the same spot in terms of overall 3-point percentage — 24th after the deadline, 26th before the deadline — but with the new acquisitions, their shooting prowess on the perimeter can lead to nights where the Lakers just torch the nets. Last Tuesday though, they torched the Pelicans in a franchise record-breaking effort of 15 made threes in the 1st half. Led by Malik Beasley who provided seven of the 15 threes, the Lakers were able to capitalize on the Pelicans’ defensive game plan focused on Anthony Davis — who had 35 points on his own so I guess that didn’t work — which led to miscues all night.
The improved shooting talent on the roster has particularly shown in the midrange. Prior to the deadline, LA shot 38.8% on pull-up 2PT shots which would tie the Houston Rockets for last across the full season. Since the trades, the Lakers are shooting 43.1% on those shots, which would rank 13th across the full season. With the additions of D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura while also increasing the minutes of Austin Reaves and Dennis Schröder, LA has found a new scoring range they can rely on.
A Star (and a lineup) Was Born
Speaking of Austin Reaves, the dismissal of Russell Westbrook and Kendrick Nunn has opened up minutes for him at the guard position and he has taken full advantage. In the month of March, Reaves is averaging 18.5 points (64.8% from two [!], 37.5% from three, and 83.3% from the line on 8.2 attempts), 5.6 assists, and only 1.8 turnovers per game. Reaves’ threat as a perimeter skill-guard has fit in seamlessly with the interior presence of Davis and also complements the slashing game of Schröder. The rise of Reaves — and the absence of LeBron who is nursing a foot injury — has brought coach Darvin Ham to concoct a new guard-centric lineup when they were once frowned upon.
Earlier in the season, whenever a lineup of three guards entered the game for the Lakers (usually a combination of Westbrook, Nunn, Schröder, Reaves, Patrick Beverley, and Lonnie Walker IV), there was a collective groan from all Laker fans in the Twittersphere. For a three-guard lineup to be effective, those guards must have some type of shooting, positional size, and adequate defense, and most of those lineups before the deadline didn’t have any of these prerequisites. However, the combination of D’Angelo Russell, Dennis Schröder, and Austin Reaves checks pretty much all the boxes for a three-guard lineup to work — and boy, it has.
Through 93 minutes, that trio has posted a plus-minus of plus-66, while generating a 131.4 offensive rating and 92.5 defensive rating, for a mind-boggling +38.9 NET rating. That’s insane. And those staggering numbers won’t hold as the sample grows larger, but the Lakers can now put out optimal lineups that just make sense and guess what? They work and are contributing to winning.
Back to the Basics
In the 17 games after the trade deadline, the Lakers boast the number one defensive rating in the league at 109.6 in that span. With the addition of Jarred Vanderbilt and the subtraction of many negative defenders — I’m looking at you, Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn, Thomas Bryant, and Lonnie Walker IV who has found his way out of the rotation — the Lakers have seen massive improvements on that side of the court. Vanderbilt can cover a wide range of elite players, from guards to wings, that were previously guarded by the likes of Westbrook and/or Beverley — his best work being on Brandon Ingram (twice) and Luka Dončić in the miraculous 27-point comeback vs Dallas.
Through 307 minutes, the staunch defensive pairing of the two University of Kentucky products, Vanderbilt and Davis, have posted an impressive defensive rating of 106.8. This destructive duo is at the forefront of the Lakers bringing back the defensive foundation that the 2020 title team was built upon.
With the two previous rosters — yes, I’m counting the pre-deadline 2023 Lakers as a separate roster — the idea was to have a smash-mouth offense surrounded by shooters which was well removed from the identity of the team that had just won it all. LeBron James and Anthony Davis alone can provide more than enough interior pressure so instead of spending a large cap slot on another paint-based player, the Lakers reloaded — pun intended — with real perimeter threats and a proper defensive infrastructure.
A Focus on Now
With LeBron in street clothes and the Lakers fumbling away winnable games, time is ticking on this season. As of writing, the Lakers currently sit at the 10th seed and need to rack up results quickly if they want to get to the postseason safely.
Through almost two seasons of turmoil on and off the court, the Lakers have finally found stability in terms of performance and inside the locker room. With the 5th-best win percentage since the deadline, one can only imagine what this roster could’ve done with a full season to play with. But in the scenario they found themselves in now, the Lakers will have to earn their right in the postseason and as this fanbase knows too well after these last couple of seasons, nothing is promised for the purple and gold.
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