Lakers Hot Takes After 1st Month of 2022-23 NBA Season
The first month of the 2022-23 NBA season has not been kind to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Like, not at all.
This was supposed to be when they bounced back from last season's lottery appearance, but instead, they've fallen even further. The offense is abysmal, the defense isn't good enough to counter that, and the roster still reads like a handful of pieces from several different puzzles.
Things are so bad that, short of recklessly predicting a total turnaround and return to contention, it's hard to think of many takes that would qualify as hot. We'll do our best, though, and turn our heat levels up with the following three fiery observations.
Patrick Beverley Is Playing Way Too Much
On paper, Patrick Beverley should fit like a tailored suit alongside LeBron James. A point guard who doesn't dominate the basketball, stripes his open threes and routinely empties the tank on defense? That's exactly who you'd want in the King's court.
Well, Beverley isn't dominating touches, and his defense is plenty ferocious, but none of that matters because his offense has been that atrocious.
A 27.8 shooting percentage would be alarming from three—but that's actually Beverley's overall conversion rate. Beyond the arc, he's down to just 23.5 percent.
That's untenable. As much as the Lakers might think they need Beverley's point-of-attack defense, they can't afford to have him suck the air out of their attack. If he's not spacing the floor, then he's adding nothing on offense, which makes you wonder how he's seeing the fifth-most floor time on the team (28.1 minutes per game).
The Mystery Star Isn't Saving This Season
While the Lakers have so far resisted packaging Russell Westbrook with multiple future first-round picks in a megatrade, that apparently isn't for a lack of a desire to deal.
Instead, they're reportedly aiming for a player they can't land yet.
"They're waiting for a specific player," Sports Illustrated's Howard Beck said (h/t Silver Screen & Roll). "The Lakers are waiting for a bigger piece to come loose that they think they can trade Westbrook and the two future firsts for."
It's fun to speculate on the identity of said mystery player, but it's all a moot point. These Lakers aren't one player away from righting the ship and crashing the championship race. Not one player they could land for that package, at least.
It's Time to Talk Trading LeBron
If the Lakers get real with themselves, they might concede that this roster is broken beyond repair.
There was a point in the not-so-distant past that James could turn a flawed roster into something formidable. Those days are behind the soon-to-be 38-year-old.
Rather than dragging this out any further, it's time for the Lakers and James to seriously discuss a scenery change. He might be showing his age (finally), but he could still be the missing piece that makes a really good team a great one. L.A. just clearly doesn't have enough around him to be that team.
It's unlikely the Lakers make this concession any time soon—if they ever do—but this all feels like delaying the inevitable, not to mention wasting the remainder of James' career. He needs a chance to contend that they can't offer him. They need long-term stability he can't give them. This relationship has run its course, and it would benefit all involved to call it quits and start fresh apart from one another.