Podcast: Why do the Lakers go away from their offense late in games?

Today, as with every Monday, I opened up the Locked on Lakers iTunes mailbag. There was plenty of great questions and comments about the Los Angeles Lakers and the city’s sports in general.

There was also this.

That’s just an amazing rant. The Lance line absolutely killed me. Well done, Egaines12.

But let’s get back to the basketball analysis that was asked for over the course of this specific show, and a trend that anyone watching this team has probably noticed. For some reason, the Lakers’ offense just completely falls apart as each specific game goes along. So, what gives?

Well, I think it starts with learning how to play alongside each other. Let’s look at LeBron James and Brandon Ingram, for example. Both guys are more than capable of creating their own shot. James obviously is capable of a larger effect on others’ games, but Ingram has shown creative proclivity as well. And yet, in the half court, their games have taken time to mesh — especially as James has struggled with his shot from three. It’s going to take time, and their fit isn’t perfect, but they’re talented enough to make it work eventually.

The other thing regarding the offense that has frustrated the living hell out of both Pete and me has been the drop-off in pace as games have gone along. That’s a natural thing that happens in all games, but it’s especially damaging to the way the Lakers need to play to be successful.

To this point in the season, the Lakers haven’t figured out how to score in the half court. Yet for some reason, they don’t avoid half-court situations when the game gets to its points of highest leverage. That probably has to change while they figure out their system.

As always, this is just a tidbit of the full context given in the show. Listen to the full discussion below and please check out old episodes, or guarantee you won’t miss any ever again by subscribing to either “The Silver Screen and Roll Podcast” or “Locked on Lakers” on iTunes.