Despite a busy offseason that saw them revamp their roster, the Lakers find themselves in a slow start. They are currently 1-2 in the ongoing regular season, after defeating the Grizzlies in a 121-118 thriller. However when taking into consideration the preseason, the squad has only managed to win one game out of nine.

Coming into the season, the Lakers were dubbed as a championship contender. With AD and LBJ looking healthier, combined with a star-studded roster, the squad had all the tools on paper to showcase a dominant situation. Unfortunately for the Purple and Gold, the Lakers aren’t looking like a championship squad. For this piece, let’s take a look at five things they need to do to buck their slow start.

Lakers Slow Start Fixes

Address FT Shooting Woes

The Lakers have been shooting decently so far. They are shooting 46.8% from the field overall and a respectable 43.4% from downtown. But surprisingly, the squad is laboring in the free throw line at a measly 65.7%. Its star players in LBJ, AD, and Russ have been shooting a mediocre 67%, 68%, and 42% from the free throw line, respectively.

The trio aren’t the best free throw shooters. However, we all know they are capable of shooting better than this. While Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan are also horrendous at the line, it must be a priority for the Lakers to improve their shooting at the stripe.

LBJ, AD, and Russ mainly do their damage by driving to the paint. Because of this, they’re going to get fouled a lot by opposing defenses. And to make opponents pay, this trio needs to make their free throws. Otherwise, this will be an easy department for other NBA teams to exploit against the Lakers which can hurt their winning chances.

Team Chemistry

With a newly put together squad, it’s a no-brainer that one of the team’s challenges will be chemistry. The Lakers have put together a talented squad with seven former and current All-Stars. Although the Lakers don’t lack in talent, working together as a team has been a glaring problem for the squad early into the season.

In the first few games, the team experienced multiple offensive and defensive miscues. While Westbrook has spoken about the issue in an interview, there’s no doubt that the Lakers need to start working on their chemistry as early as now.

Unfortunately, the locker room took a hit when AD and Howard engaged in a scuffle against each other during a Lakers’ timeout during their loss against the Suns. Both had to be separated by their teammates in a heated exchange, which was a cause of concern for the Lakers’ faithful. Thankfully, AD and Howard have reportedly resolved the issue.

With a team full of talent, there’s no question that egos and pride will be obstacles. However, that would be up to the players and to the leadership of LBJ and Frank Vogel to make it work. Fortunately for them, they have an entire season to learn about each others’ games and to make adjustments. But as of now, the Lakers’ cohesion is a work in progress.

Integrating Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook was arguably the biggest acquisition by the Lakers in free agency. Landing him gave the Lakers its third star. However, his acquisition was also surrounded by critics, especially in terms of fit. Unfortunately after watching the first few games, the critics are turning out to be right.

The former MVP has looked out of place for LA. In his first few games, he has averaged a career-low 12.0 points per game on 35% shooting.

While it’s natural for a star to see his numbers dip after joining a superteam, it’s Westbrook’s playing style that is a cause of concern. Westbrook dominates the game by having the ball in his hands. This of course clashes with the Lakers’ resident star LeBron James. Both are playmakers who love to attack the rim.

LBJ has had history of success playing alongside superstar guards like Kyrie Irving and Dwyane Wade. But unlike his new teammate, both of them have a respectable jumper. Westbrook has struggled shooting from the perimeter in a Lakers’ uniform. He is only shooting a measly 9% from downtown. This allows defenses to sag off him.

Integrating Westbrook to the Lakers’ schemes will be a tricky riddle to solve. In fact, aside from his shooting woes, Westbrook is also averaging a career-high 5.7 turnovers per game. While Westbrook is a great talent, the Lakers need to find a way to utilize him effectively in order to win.

More Anthony Davis at Center

Among the Lakers’ problems, one of the biggest is its stacked frontline. While it traditionally isn’t a bad problem, for the Lakers like last season, it’s the same dilemma with different personnel. Last season, the team had issues with Marc Gasol and Andre Drummond. This year, they deal with Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan.

DeAndre Jordan has started the Lakers ever since the preseason. He was one of the high-profile pickups by the Lakers during the latter part of free agency. But so far, his stint has been underwhelming. While DJ has had a decorated career, the one time All-Star doesn’t seem to be a good fit for the Purple and Gold. The same goes for backup center Dwight Howard.

With DJ or Howard on the floor, the Lakers have had trouble with spacing. With LBJ, AD, and Russ all usually getting into the paint, either of those centers have been clogging the lane offensively. Because of this, AD needs to play more at center.

While Howard and DJ will play key roles down the road, there’s no question that the Lakers look better with AD as the team’s main center. Unlike Howard and DJ, AD’s versatility to do some damage beyond the paint allows attackers to drive into the lane. Aside from spacing, AD is also capable of dominating the paint. In fact, Hall-of-Famer James Worthy agrees to this.

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Improve Wing Defense

When you have a squad coached by Frank Vogel, this is a team that prides itself defensively. But for this Lakers iteration, the defense is still a work in progress. For the first games of the regular season, the Lakers struggled to make their mark on defense, which was a critical department during their title run in 2020.

In fact, we saw Jordan Poole and Stephen Curry torch the Lakers’ defenses. During the second game, we saw CP3 and the Suns casually driving out the Lakers. And while the Lakers won against the Grizzlies, Ja Morant still exploded for 40 points and 10 assists.

While the Lakers do have options at their disposal, they are all injured. The team has defensive specialists like Trevor Ariza, Kendrick Nunn, and Talen Horton-Tucker. Ariza would’ve been perfect to address this issue. However with a serious ankle injury, Ariza won’t be able to see action for a while. It also doesn’t help that he is already 36. This ultimately doesn’t make it ideal for him as the team’s lone go-to wing stopper.

While Nunn is considered to be a great perimeter defender by scouts, his size will still be disadvantageous at only 6’2. THT would’ve been ideal at 6’4. However, he is still recovering from thumb surgery.

The Lakers also have the option to make roster changes, especially if these injured players play subpar upon their respective returns. The squad can  pick up James Ennis, who they worked out in the summer, or Wesley Matthews. But nevertheless, the Lakers have a defensive issue in the wing that they need to address.