Giannis "The Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo continues his incredible season
Oh, the skepticism. First when the deal was announced, then when Giannis Antetokounmpo caught fire early in the season. But here we are, with winter come, and two games into December, Giannis Antetokounmpo just posted a 26 point, 6 rebound, 5 assist, 1 steal performance on 11 of 16 shooting. Season averages? 18.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.2 blocks on 53.2% shooting, putting the lie to the doubters, the haters who said in no way he was worth the money he's getting. Defensively - 68.9% drives stopped, 2.2 TOFC, and a strong 0.84 PA/SF ratio. His +5.8 NET is also the best of all the Lakers' starters. In short, he's been living up to his eight figure contract, playing at an all-around All-Star worthy level while helping his Lakers to a 7-11 record. At this time last season? 8-10, but in the middle of a long losing streak that the team would never really recover from. This year, the Purple and Gold very much find themselves a fringe playoff team, and better positioned to make a move to finally break through to the postseason, unlike last season, when they relied on a veteran Taj Gibson, an inconsistent Walter Tavares, and O.J. Mayo's 3 point shooting, in addition to DeMar DeRozan.
This year has not only seen Antetokounmpo's ascendancy (He was 11.3/4.6/3.5/0.5/0.9/38.1 last season), but the continued steady presence of DeRozan averaging 21.6 points on a career best 51% shooting in spite of the additions of Anteokounmpo and Nik Stauskas, who presumably would have dropped DeRozan's scoring. In fact, he's actually scoring a hairsbreadth more (0.2 PPG) in the triangulation of the offense.
To wit:
Anteokounmpo - 18.9 (53.2)
DeRozan - 21.6 (51)
Stauskas -20.7 (47.6/47.4)
Combining for 61.2 of the Lakers' 102.9 points - 59.5%. Yes, almost 6/10ths of the Purple and Gold's scoring comes from 3 players. The inside games of Antetokounmpo and DeRozan balancing excellently with Stauskas's 3 point gunning. And work quietly continues on maximizing the gains from Giannis and Stauskas, the former shifting oh so slowly to be more of a post player (61.8% inside), the latter transforming into a pure 3 point gunner. They're both just 23, plenty of time to have their game at the highest level by the time their prime hits, and at 27, DeRozan is a year away from his own prime, and as fluid as ever.
Then there's C.J. Fair, who has been an unexpected turnover forcing (2.2) boost off the bench, averaging a career high 13.2 points and 44.7% shooting, 37% from long range. Although not expected to be a long-term Laker, given he's an expiring contract, it's still proven a pleasant surprise.
Let's not forget T.J. McConnell, who has solved his PA/SF problems from last year, with a respectable 0.897, as opposed to his over 1 from his rookie year. Still a strong drive stop rate (85.6%)and a dramatically improved playmaking game (6.9 assists to 5.4).
Yet, in spite of these glowing accomplishments, and the pure pleasure of watching Lakers' basketball, which hasn't been accurate for the last few seasons, issues still abound that prevent playoff certainty, even in a much weaker than expected Pacific.
The Issues
1. A need for a center who fits.
When you have a split-time situation at a position, that means you don't have someone you're happy with there. Arturas Guidaitis, Rudy Gobert, Cliff Alexander, and Cristiano Felicio have all seen minutes at the 5 this year, and while Gudaitis, Alexander, and Felicio are a matter of waiting for further development, the fanbase is clamoring for a playoff spot now, and the front office secretly would like even a first round sweep in order to give starters other than DeRozan postseason experience. As of right now, the contributions just aren't there, and the Lakers are hunting for a rebounding, defensive center - even going so far as to inquire after a few veterans. If they can find someone who fits, a playoff spot becomes that much more likely - and this from a preseason bottom 5 team. Another thing - Gobert is rumored to be heading to Chicago at Day 90 if the Lakers and Bulls can work out a trade the Purple and Gold like.
2. Defense
It's a familiar song, but at 110.4 points given up per game and 27th, the Lakers are the worst from a fringe playoff team perspective. They also don't force turnovers much (12.6) - 24th. It's an improvement from last season, but an elite defender would go a long way here. Terrence Jones was inquired after, but the Spurs are holding off, waiting for a prime return on the player who's gotten even more interest than Kevin Durant.One noticeable weakness - Stauskas and DeRozan are both below 70% on drives stopped, and Fair, after starting strong, has faded there, so a strong stopper would help considerably if one can be found who could force out the beloved DeRozan.
3. Rebounding
Dead last in rebounds given up, and towards the bottom in rebounds for themselves. Looking at the roster, this is no secret - only Cliff Alexander is a two-way competent rebounder, and he has a long way to go to reaching his defensive potential. This is related to #1, of course, but should the Lakers find two capable rebounders who can also play defense, Giannis Antetokounmpo would shift to SF or become an everywhere 6th man with starter-level minutes. But rebounding is at a premium on the trade market right now, so just finding one is the priority.
2028
