Lakers News: Week 6 Power Rankings Reflect LA's Uneven Season

Your Los Angeles Lakers' 10-8 start to the season has included with some impressive wins, but has also been marred by some embarrassing losses. Highlighted by 20-point defeats at the hands of the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic, and a 44-point loss at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers just this past Monday, the team's limited shot creation, shooting, and perimeter defense has been on full display.

Injuries have also been an issue, but lots of teams in the league are banged up. When it comes to creating what they can out of what they have, LA has been near-average, sitting at eighth in the Western Conference.

Let's take stock of some NBA Week 6 team power rankings from around the blogosphere:

1) John Schuhmann of NBA.com: No. 12.

2) Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today: No. 13

3) Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints: No. 16

4) Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype: No. 10

5) Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer: No. 4.

There's some variation amongst these analysts, but as a consensus (excluding O'Connor's extreme bullishness), LA ranks below Western Conference squads like Minnesota, Denver, Oklahoma City, and Phoenix.

Given that Minnesota has been without Jaden McDaniels, Denver has been without Jamal Murray, and Phoenix has been without Bradley Beal and/or Devin Booker, however, LA has no real excuse to be behind these groups.

The relative health of LeBron and Anthony Davis should be giving LA great odds on a nightly basis, but their 10-8 record suggests otherwise.

Overall though, isn't a terrible spot to be in given how banged up LA has been – injuries to Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, and now Cam Reddish, have all been major issues for a team that relies heavy on their depth and three of players in particular for their perimeter defense.

This is what O'Connor's rationale was to have LA ranked so high, as he believes that things are trending up as the injured players begin to return. He also cites Austin Reaves' steady production off the bench, but frankly, it's really hard to be as bullish on LA as he is. He doesn't address the obvious concerns (poor offense, inconsistent/below-averaeg shooting, bad first halves, etc).

This ranking was done prior to LA's 44-point loss to the Sixers, however, so taking that with a grain of salt would lead to a more lukewarm approach on the Lakers' going forward.

Outside of O'Connor, each of the cited analysts seem to have the same concerns about the Lakers, and so do I.

Simply put, the offense has taken a step back. Per Schuhmann, LeBron's turnover rate as at an all-time high. As Siegel furthers, Anthony Davis is yet to earn the title of the Lakers' best player, as his inconsistent offensive play has fostered some issues down the stretch.

These two issues, amongst others, have been reflected in the way LA has started out games, as in spite of being the league's top unit in the 4th quarter, some holes are dug too deep to climb out of – as seen in the Sixers game.

There's really no explanation for why the team is perpetually so bad when it comes to producing early on, but certain changes like the Austin Reaves benching or Max Christie addition to the starting lineup haven't made the impact that we were hoping they would.

LA might be due for a trade of some kind, or just adjusting game plans to play more aggressive early on. That's all easier said than done, however, so we'll see how the current-8th seed in the West plans for a stronger December.

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