Relax, the Lakers are fine

LeBron James and the Lakers are 3-5 after a four-point loss to the Timberwolves on Monday night and a narrow win over Dallas on Wednesday. It’s a rough, but not terribly unexpected opening for a team of inexperienced youth teaming up with a 33-year-old legend.

But this team is the Los Angeles Lakers with the King, so many are quick to hit the panic button. The fuel was ignited after Monday’s game when James was led on to give a provocative quote that was aggregated wildly without context.

“You probably don’t want to be around when my patience runs out,” James said, but not nearly as cryptically as advertised. Here’s the video of the exchange between James and the reporter:

Reporter: You’ve been preaching patience this whole year. At what point does that patience run out and what do you look like as a leader when that patience runs out?

James: You probably don’t want to be around when my patience runs out. I’m serious.

That pressure jumped up even further with the news that Magic Johnson admonished coach Luke Walton for the team’s struggles, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin.

In a meeting on Tuesday, following a winless two-game trip, Los Angeles Lakers president Magic Johnson admonished coach Luke Walton for the team’s sluggish start to the season, league sources told ESPN.

Johnson’s cutting appraisal elevated an already acute awareness within the Lakers coaching staff that there are intense and immediate pressures on Walton to deliver the franchise a winner in short order.

Publicly, Walton has everyone’s support, but the most recent report suggests Johnson has private concerns.

We don’t believe he should, because there have been some positive signs this year despite the start.

Buried behind the losing is that L.A. has the No. 7 offense in the league so far, scoring 112.3 points per 100 possessions. For better or worse, that includes three games without Rajon Rondo and four without Brandon Ingram.

The Lakers have been torched for their inability to bring in another co-star for LeBron, but in Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Ingram, there’s growing talent that is collectively holding its own even in close defeats. And of course, LeBron is LeBron.

Specifically, the Lakers are really good at getting to the rim, where the most efficient shots in the game are taken. The team attempts 42.8 shots from within 1-to-3 feet from the basket per game, the most by nearly six attempts. That means nearly 45 percent of their total shots are coming exactly where they want them, and they’re sinking those looks to the sixth-highest percentage of any team (65.8 percent.)

There are improvements to be made, including finding reliable shooters to diversify sets and interior rebounders to keep plays alive, but this offensive start is promising.

There’s some amount of luck involved in any sporting event, and in basketball it’s often seen at the end of games. Who gets hot in the final possessions often determines the result, as it did Monday when Jimmy Butler hit five fourth-quarter threes. In three of the Lakers five losses, they’ve lost by four points or fewer, one of which was in overtime. The law of averages suggests that number should start to even out as the season progresses.

The small scoring disparity tells us that teams aren’t steamrolling L.A. Even in losses, they’re right there, even if they haven’t been able to overcome the final hurdle.

Because defense is more communicative than offense, it’s also more difficult to perfect early in the season with a new roster. There’s reliance on your teammate to succeed, and so early in their careers, the young core of Ingram, Kuzma, Ball, and Hart haven’t played on an elite defense before. Forming a unit where everyone’s on the same page takes time.

Even still, L.A. hasn’t been the worst at it. The Lakers rank No. 23, allowing 112.4 points per 100 possessions. The Timberwolves, Wizards, Pelicans, and Rockets, all expected playoff teams, trail them.

So no, it isn’t time to panic yet in L.A. It’s far too soon for James to spread subtweets through the media, and it’s far too soon for Johnson to admonish Walton.

For now, the Lakers appear better than their record, with the assumption that their young stars will grow. LeBron’s patience shouldn’t run out anytime soon.