OKC Thunder: NBA Power Rankings week 10 – All-Star break edition
team. 20. . 24-11. Previous: . Los Angeles Lakers. 6
Los Angeles Lakers: 24-11
Week 10: 2-2
Won vs: Blazers 102-93, Warriors 117-91
Lost to: Wizards 124-127 (OT), Jazz 89-114
Opponents this week: Suns, Kings
Offensive Rating: 110.9 (18th) | Defensive Rating: 105.1 (1st) | Net Differential: +5.7 (5th)
Clearly, the Lakers aren’t the same club without Anthony Davis. The situation was made more dire when Dennis Schroder was forced to miss games due to contact tracing.
Diving into the key stats provides evidence of just how problematic the situation is without AD particularly offensively. Schroder’s return helped quell the storm but a closer look reveals the Blazers aren’t exactly powerhouses defensively either.
While LeBron James is doing his best to keep the team near the top of the West, at 36 his playing time has to be a concern for the Lakers who need to have him healthy (and ideally rested) to start the postseason.
The schedule isn’t going to help since the Lakers’ first half was the easy part and they’ll be saddled with the fifth hardest closing schedule. As Intentions noted in our second half schedule comparison LA played the fewest back-to-back sets and second-fewest games with a rest disadvantage.
The back end of their schedule features eight rest disadvantages and eight back-to-back sets. While claiming home court would be great, it’s far more important to have LeBron and AD rested and ready to defend the title.