Lakers News: LA Cascades Down Week 10 NBA Power Rankings
Your 16-15 Los Angeles Lakers have been in a heck of a funk over the past two weeks, and are now firmly entrenched in NBA Play-In Tournament terrain (the team is the West's ninth seed) despite being largely healthy, one Gabe Vincent surgery aside. And the NBA pundit world at large has noticed.
That's why, practically across the board, the club has tumbled down the league's Week 10 power rankings.
The Lakers slid mightily down the standings for John Schuhmann of NBA.com, from No. 11 all the way to No. 16.
"With LeBron James scoring a season-high 40 points, the Lakers got a great win in Oklahoma City on Saturday. But they’re just 2-6 since the In-Season Tournament final, slipping from fifth to ninth place in the Western Conference," Schuhmann writes.
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints takes an identical tac, dipping LA from No. 11 to No. 16.
"If Anthony Davis records a 40-point double-double, this team has no right losing any game they play due to how great they can be defensively," Siegel writes. "Well, Davis had 40 points and 13 rebounds against the Celtics on Christmas and the Lakers still lost by 11 points."
"Effort and intensity," Siegel continues. "These are the two words that will result in the Lakers either making a deep postseason run or being an early exit from the playoffs. Quite honestly, if this recent stretch is the story for the rest of the season, Los Angeles may have to fight for their playoff lives in the play-in tournament."
Zach Harper of The Athletic also drops the Lakers to a No. 16 ranking, albeit from a more generous No. 13 slot. Harper (ahem) harps on the same question we all have: why can't the Lakers put the ball in the darn basket?
"The Lakers should not be this bad offensively [the club's 112.4 offensive rating is tied for 22nd in the league]," Harper opines. "Their 3-point shooting is weak, and they still can’t score if LeBron isn’t in the game."
Colin Ward-Henninger of CBS Sports, meanwhile, believes that this week's Lakers are just as impressive (or, rather, unimpressive) as last week's, as he has ranked the club at No. 17 once again while unpacking the club's recent run of absolute two-way mediocrity.
"The Lakers picked up a nice win in OKC, but that's the week's only good news after losses to the Bulls, Timberwolves and Celtics," Ward-Henninger notes. "The defense allowed nearly 122 points per 100 possessions, prompting Darvin Ham to insert Jarred Vanderbilt into the starting lineup ahead of D'Angelo Russell, which didn't pay immediate dividends on that end. Anthony Davis averaged 29 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the four games, while LeBron James put up 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the three games he played."
Los Angeles will have its next opportunity to improve its post-IST record on Thursday, when it will play the 7-20 Charlotte Hornets.
