The Lakers puzzle may have pieces that don't fit - is it fixable at all?


The Lakers Magic Johnson promised to bring key free agents to Laker-Land this summer and next or he would step down from his position with the team. Well he he landed an absolute top-tier guy in Lebron James, but things have not worked well thus far with three games down the drain.


The Lakers are in a 4-way tie for last place in the NBA with a 0-3 record. They are 25th in Defensive Rating, while Boston sits at #1. Magic's team is in front of the Celtics in Offensive Rating at #20, with Boston at #29.


I have written recently on the Lakers being a team of talented misfits and players with redundant skills. In this mornings NBA TV broadcast, analyst Grant Hill proposed a similar scenario, calling the team "disjointed" and having "pieces that don't fit, particularly with Lebron."


Hill's comment aligns very closely to what I had written. The King's present team lacks outside shooters. They are one of the few teams shooting worse than Boston on 3-pointers. LA is 29th in treys (23.9%), while the Celtics are ranked 26th at 31.2%. The difference is that we know the Celtics have the capacity to shoot much better than that, and we have to remember two guys, Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, that can do just that are recently back from serious injuries. And we have no assurances that the Lakers can cure their long-distance shooting woes.

Lebron's new team starts the season at 0-and-3, the same as his Cavaliers team in James' 2003-04 rookie season. That Cavs team had a 35-47 losing season and missed the playoffs. But that same team shot 31.4% on three-pointers. Still not great, but that was not a star-filled team. Cleveland had the likes of Carlos Boozer, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Eric Williams, Tony Battie and Kedrick Brown.


Will the Lakers puzzle come together with the pieces all fitting? I am sure The King already has his own ideas how to repair what is wrong, but he is not the coach. Luke Walton is. And Lonzo Balls dad, Lavar, has been quiet so far. Will he remain so if things keep going the wrong way? Rajon Rondo is out due to #SpitGate and a left hook in Chris Paul's direction, and how will he and his back-court mate, Lonzo, fare together. Neither is known for Ray Allen-level 3-point shooting. And who will figure it all out? Magic? Walton? Lebron? I doubt it will be Lavar. Stay tuned. The season is young.

Follow Tom at @TomLaneHC and Facebook

Photo via Melissa Little/ESPN

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