As expected, the Los Angeles Lakers season has already been a roller-coaster. Eventful, compelling, ever-changing, mildly successful. Understandably, they look like a group developing chemistry, learning schemes, navigating injuries (including LeBron James), and finding a groove.

They've suffered three ugly losses, pulled out two gritty wins, and, most recently, posted two encouraging performances against lottery teams. Entering Tuesday, they're 4-3, and, as Frank Vogel noted, are basically one disastrous half in OKC from being on a five-game winning streak.

Undoubtedly, this Lakers season will be a journey of ups and downs, moving pieces, and evolving narratives. That said, let's “overreact” to three notable developments, including a couple of early awards candidates.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4p0UAjusshG4f2oEWj3xNw?si=bcb76dca1a734655

Lakers Overreactions

1) The Lakers perimeter defense is a problem (and not in a good way)

The Lakers knew they were sacrificing perimeter defense for shot-making with their offseason moves. So far, that expectation has borne fruit.

Part of this, of course, is due to injuries. They are relying upon Trevor Ariza and Talen Horton-Tucker and, to a lesser extent, Kendrick Nunn, to be key stoppers. The healthy newcomers are adapting to Vogel's scheme.

“We got a lot of guys, a lot of new guys, this year that came from different systems,” said LeBron, “or who have played defense different ways. So we’re working every day.”

Is this a real concern in the long run? Very possibly.

Malik Monk will need a lot of coaching to defend adequately. Russell Westbrook gets lost. Rajon Rondo is not going to be a rotation piece, with good reason. Kent Bazemore and Avery Bradley have been solid. LeBron is active and flying around, for now.

One surprise contributor in this department? Undrafted rookie Austin Reaves, who has shined on both ends of the ball and turned into a valuable piece. As I predicted, he's already cracked the Lakers' rotation.

The Lakers were in the bottom five of the NBA in defensive efficiency before the second half of Friday's ship-righting win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. They called a film session that morning and have spent hours crunching tape since. Entering Sunday’s game vs. the Houston Rockets, the Lakers had the 27th-ranked defense in the league.

Promisingly, they held Houston to 85 points, 42.1% shooting, and forced 27 turnovers. For the most part, they quieted the Rocket's slick youngsters, especially Jalen Green. In general, the Lakers were dialed-in from the jump.

“Huge growth on the defensive side of the ball,” Vogel said. “We’ve been really hammering the details with these guys — the areas that we’ve been failing. We’ve had very productive film sessions, and they’ve been challenged with things like containment and executing their coverages the right way.”

The Lakers will improve in this department, but it's fair to question whether it will be an Achilles heel all year. Early-season home games against lottery teams only tell you so much.

(Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell Pope's impressive starts in Chicago and Washington don't help, either.)

2) Anthony Davis will win Defensive Player of the Year

Thankfully, Anthony Davis is holding down the fort.

Both Rondo and I believed Davis could both win DPOY and lead the Lakers in scoring, thereby garnering the most MVP votes on the team. At the moment, he's leading scoring (24.7), rebounding (11.4), and blocks (2.3) per game.

“Our scheme works,” Davis said on Friday. “We just have to be committed to doing it and let the team know just commit energy and effort to defense. It’s a mindset: ‘OK, I’m going to play defense. And I’m going to do my job, and whatever my job is, if it leaves my guy open, I know the next guy is going to take the rotation to cover me, because I’m doing my job.’ And that’s a trust thing. We showed it tonight in the fourth quarter, but we’ve got to do it from the start.”

Davis shouldered the blame for the team's early-season defensive struggles. Admirable, but not exactly accurate. Maybe his communication was lacking, but he's been dominant on the defensive end — the type of game-changing force we haven't seen since the bubble. (On offense: his finishing and free throws need work).

3) Carmelo Anthony will win Sixth Man of the Year

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Speaking of awards: Anthony is the early favorite for Sixth Man of the Year after a blistering week of shooting the rock, especially at home.

On Halloween, Melo wore his best Prime Melo costume. He led the Lakers with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-8 from deep. Plus, he had one of his best defensive games in years, posting four blocks and three steals for the first time since his rookie season (in a Dec. 2003 matchup vs. LeBron's Cavs).

“I didn’t expect him to have a defensive performance like he did tonight,” Vogel said. “It was great. I mean, forget about the steals and blocks and strips. He’s always good with his hands. But he’s in the right position. When you watch him on tape coming into this year, Iike, the effort’s there. He plays hard on that side of the ball. We have to protect him in certain ways and we’re figuring that out. Landed in some good spots with that. And we’re asking him to do things within our system. Like that low-man collision, which he was great with tonight. He’s willing to do all of these things. He can do all of these things. And when he’s providing that kind of performance on the defensive side of the ball, with the way he’s shooting it, he’s a huge part of our win tonight.”

Melo has made 17-of-24 from beyond the arc at Staples Center and 52.2% of his three-point attempts overall. He's averaging 16.7 PPG.

Staples perks up every time Melo touches the ball, runs to the scorer's table, or elevates to shoot. His buckets carry different energy than most players.

Anthony has been the feel-good story of the Lakers. If he keeps it up, he'll win Sixth Man of the Year — which would be the feel-good story of the NBA season.

Still TBD: How the Lakers rotations will look when their injured wings return (including what they'll end up doing with Avery Bradley and the 15th roster spot), how LeBron's health and defensive commitment will hold up, and, of course, if Russell Westbrook can keep his turnovers down, continue being active off-ball, and, ultimately, prove to be a fit in crunch-time. The Lakers are -9 so far on the season, thanks to a +25 vs. Houston. Baby steps.