Lakers

Predicting when the Los Angeles Lakers will win their first game of the 2022-23 NBA season. They have gotten off to an 0-5 start to the season.

The Lakers will eventually win. The Lakers close the week with the Denver Nuggets Sunday. Even though this article was written a bit in a sarcastic tone, the Lakers have some serious issues to figure out on their own. In hopes of not getting lost in the playoff picture, the hope is that the Lakers can begin winning soon. The big question for the team heading into the second or third week of the season is when that will come. They are the [worst shooting team in the league](https://sircharlesincharge.com/2022/10/27/los-angeles-lakers-fatal-flaw-fix/) and have statistically the worst offense in the league.

Lakers forward LeBron James stands on the court as coach Darvin Ham looks at a play. Forward LeBron James and first-year coach Darvin Ham are winless in five ...

He has to do what’s best for his body and his mind. Clippers: ‘Defended his behind off’](https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/story/2022-10-22/lakers-russell-westbrook-darvin-ham-clippers-nba) “He has to do what’s best for his body. If Davis isn’t 100% physically or mentally, then what’s the point of any of this? The Lakers could certainly improve that number via trade if they’re willing to part with both future first-round picks. Even though Russell Westbrook looked more comfortable in his first game as the primary ballhandler and playmaker for the team’s second unit, taking his $47-million contract and carving it into two or three capable offensive players is the surest way to make the team more competitive — at least offensively. “Make sure his mind is in the right place, because I think that’s the most important part of any injury. AD is taking care of his body, which is most important,” Westbrook said. But, as one rival executive who recently scouted the Lakers put it, “we all knew they wouldn’t shoot. The Golden State Warriors, currently ranked 15th, are shooting 36%. Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s Lakers newsletter. Turning things around might not be as hard as it seems — one Lakers player quipped during the road trip that the answer would be simply “30%” three-point shooting.

Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham gave the perfect response when asked about his team's lack of a third scorer.

It’s not like the 2020 title team ever developed a reliable third scorer behind James and Davis anyway. [coming off the bench](https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-russell-westbrook-gets-massive-injury-update-ahead-of-fridays-game-vs-timberwolves/), but still needed 17 shots to score 18 points. and Austin Reaves were the only other Lakers in double-figures. Los Angeles, in his view, could use pretty much anyone to fill its void of a consistent third scorer—even local beat reporters. Anthony Davis’ ongoing struggles with his jumper only compound the biggest problem during Los Angeles’ wholly dispiriting 0-5 start. Building any team around LeBron James that lacks a semblance of competent perimeter shooting would always be a recipe for disaster, but especially with Russell Westbrook also in the fold.

Fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves had a savage chant during their win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.

The Timberwolves defeated the still-winless Lakers at Target Center by a 111-102 final. They are one of just two winless teams in the entire league (along with the 0-4 Sacramento Kings) and do not even own their first-round draft pick in 2023. [are getting punked by every single opponent they face these days](https://larrybrownsports.com/basketball/nuggets-forward-bruce-brown-savage-trash-talk-lebron-james-lakers/606251).

Despite a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they've lost their first five games of the season.

He galvanized the franchise and the players, which is why it was such a crushing blow to Celtics brass when he violated the conduct policy. The Celtics brought in Griffin to help the thin frontcourt, and he agreed to a guaranteed deal for this season. It will require a considerable effort, which is what Brown alluded to during his interview with the Globe. The decision to suspend Udoka was a Celtics decision, and not one of the NBA, and he doesn’t face any penalty from the league. Rivers said recently he still enjoys coaching and that he is optimistic that the 76ers will get it together and become a contender in the Eastern Conference. Brown has a lot at stake and made the right decision. The hope is when Dennis Schröder returns from a hand injury and the veterans adapt to Ham’s system, fortunes will be better. As for Rivers, he was not hired by 76ers general manager Daryl Morey, and this is a pivotal season for the franchise, considering James Harden and Joel Embiid are now healthy. In other words, Westbrook is not trying to be a role player, although the Lakers brought him off the bench Friday. James signed off on the Westbrook trade, and the Lakers sent out two pieces from that title team — Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — to facilitate the deal. In Denver, with Westbrook out with a hamstring injury, the Lakers played one good quarter and were put away late by the Nuggets. And Westbrook is stubborn enough to take those shots in a quest to prove he’s still an All-Star-caliber player.

Rather than putting shooters around LeBron and AD, he has brought in mostly non-shooters, headlined by Russell Westbrook, with the result being a cramped ...

The good news for Rob is this clearly went over great and the team really bought in based off the early results this season. In a bit of incredible timing, after the Lakers fell to 0-5 with a loss to the Timberwolves on Friday, Spectrum Sportsnet ran their latest episode of Backstage: Lakers, which gives fans a behind the scenes look at team meetings and more. Rather than putting shooters around LeBron and AD, he has brought in mostly non-shooters, headlined by Russell Westbrook, with the result being a cramped offense and a team that missed the playoffs (and even the play-in) last year and is off to an 0-5 start to this season.

“From Day 1, I mentioned I'm the guy that's willing to do whatever for the team,” said Westbrook, who hadn't been used as a reserve since his rookie season. “ ...

“He has to do what’s best for his body,” [LeBron James](https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jamesle01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-)said. [Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register](https://www.ocregister.com/2022/10/29/lakers-grapple-with-mental-toll-of-injuries-0-5-start/). “We’re just trying to find what works right now, to be honest,” he said. “He has to do what’s best for his body and his mind. “From Day 1, I mentioned I’m the guy that’s willing to do whatever for the team,” said Westbrook, who hadn’t been used as a reserve since his rookie season. It’s a role that new head coach Darvin Ham talked to Westbrook about during the offseason, and he decided to make the move after the team’s sluggish start.

As Laker fans beg Rob Pelinka to get some shooters on this roster, one of the better shooters who has suited up for the purple and gold in recent memory is ...

It's a tough place to play, it's a tough place to be under that microscope and playing alongside those guys.” Green has some sympathy for the front office’s thought process but made it clear to Beck that the Lakers should have prioritized shooting and defense around their stars instead of an additional playmaker. That this critique is coming from Green, a career 40 percent 3-point shooter and one of the first players to ever receive the 3-and-D designation, is not lost on the listener. I thought there was a lot of good pieces that were good fits for them that they let go or traded away and they thought they had a better fit. Green was asked if he thinks about what has happened to the 2020 title team over the last two years, and his response wasn’t exactly surprising: I think it’s interesting, I mean all the teams that I've played for, you try to see what kind of moves they make, what direction they're going in, and especially if you win a championship there, it's home, you have some type of invested feeling toward that city, toward that group, toward some of the players that are still there, the organization.