The star power of the Los Angeles Lakers in the form of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves was previously the team’s biggest strength, but recently, it has been the root of their problems.
While each player remains extremely impactful in their own right for the Lakers, as a group on the floor together, whether it be with Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura, or any other member of the roster, their numbers together have been lackluster as of late.
Reporting for Bleacher Report, Grant Hughes wrote that the Lakers’ stars not meshing is the biggest issue facing the team right now, specifically as James’ statistical totals have dropped significantly compared to years past.
“The Los Angeles Lakers’ ceiling depends on how well its best players perform together. So far, the results with Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and LeBron James sharing the floor are falling way below expectations,” Hughes wrote.
While Los Angeles is still 18-7 and third in the Western Conference standings, the net rating of the trio on the court together hasn’t been what the franchise had hoped.
Lakers Star Trio Of Luka, LeBron, And Reaves ‘The Biggest Issue’
The Lakers have a negative plus/minus when James, Doncic, and Reaves have been on the court together, with a far-below-league-average rating on the offensive side of the ball. Though there is a limited sample size with James only playing just nine games so far this year after his return from sciatica, it is clear that there are major problems with the trio.
“The Lakers allow 81.2 percent shooting at the rim and surrender loads of three-point attempts with their top three offensive stars on the floor,” Hughes wrote. “They also get blitzed in transition and never counter with breakouts of their own. All of that squares with preseason concerns about their general lack of pace and defensive oomph.”
Not to say that the three players aren’t impactful on their own, as seen with the Lakers’ strong record, but in many recent games, strong performances from any of them haven’t necessarily guaranteed a win on any given night.
Doncic has taken the brunt of that criticism, with former NBA players and current analysts dubbing him as putting up ’empty stats’ as, despite his league-leading scoring, the team is 3-3 in their last six contests. The issues have been evident, but so far, that impact hasn’t been seen through their record.
Through 25 games, Los Angeles is 18-7, and while the star trio issue could be cause for concern down the line, adding another player through a trade could very well fix some of those defensive issues.
LeBron James Taking A Step Back Statistically
James, continuing to put up his career averages of 27 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists a night in his record-breaking 23rd season, was never really the expectation this season, but in his limited action, he’s been pretty far away from those totals.
So far this year, he is averaging 17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 7.2 assists on a career-low 46.9% shooting, a collective counting stats combination that has been the biggest drop of his career.
Writing for ESPN, Zach Kram highlighted how ‘Father Time’ is finally catching up to the league’s all-time leading scorer, which, though relatively unsurprising, could be cause for concern in Laker Land.
“James’ 6.8 PPG drop is the largest among any of the 47 players who averaged at least 20 PPG last season,” he wrote. “He has three games with at least 20 points this season, but he has also had games with 13, 11, 10 and eight points. That eight-point outing, most famously, ended his record 1,297-game streak of double-digit points in the regular season.”
But while he has taken a slight step back to give the reins to Doncic, whether he truly wanted to or not, the numbers for James have dropped across the board in his nine appearances this season. Not to say he hasn’t been impactful, but compared to the rest of his career, this has been James’ worst statistical season, by far.
Los Angeles seems to know that, as per Kram, they’ve only sent him out on the court with at least one of Doncic or Reaves to play alongside him, a sign that at nearly age 41, he can no longer handle the full control of a team’s offense.
“In games in which James, Doncic and Reaves have appeared together, James hasn’t played a single minute without at least one of the two others,” he added. “The most worrisome part for Los Angeles is that its big three doesn’t seem to be working as expected…Overall, the James-Doncic-Reaves trio is minus-32 in 695 minutes together.”
Though still a difference-maker, James is finally showing signs of age, and as the season goes on, the Lakers could start to feel the brunt of his presence on the court with the other two stars.
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