The Los Angeles Lakers have faced a number of unexpected issues during the first 30 games of the 2023-24 season. They’ve dealt with injuries, poor first quarters and inconsistent play from players like D’Angelo Russell, among others.
And turnovers have been another point of contention for L.A. in the early phase of a championship expectation campaign.
The Lakers are averaging 13.8 turnovers per game through their first 29 regular season games. That puts them at No. 21 in the NBA in this category, right between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic. It’s part of what has led them to a 15-14 record after four consecutive losses and five losses in their last six games. Taking care of the ball is essential, especially when a team does not have an elite scoring offense.
Russell, who ranks fourth on the Lakers in individual turnovers at just under two per game, spoke about the turnover problem and why he believes it won’t be a big issue as the season progresses, as seen on Spectrum SportsNet:
“The unforced ones are one thing, but offensively, some of the lineups we have out there, we’re figuring it out as we go. And there’s gonna be turnovers within that, I think that’s what you guys are seeing, guys trying to figure each other out and figure out where you want it. So there’s a lot of uncaused turnovers that add up and then you look up as a team and we might have too many that just didn’t make sense. But like I said, just understanding one another and having familiarity with where guys are gonna be will help us in that standpoint.”
The Lakers are very clearly lacking offensive rhythm, in part due to the fluctuation in lineups with so many early injuries. L.A. ranks 24th in the NBA in offensive rating and 19th in turnover rate. Ideally, as the team gets and stays healthy, they’ll find more player combinations that work on the offensive end.
But even with a lack of rhythm, Russell mentions that the Lakers can still remove unforced errors from their game, and that alone should make a significant difference toward some of the issues they’ve been having this season.
The Lakers are preparing to face one of the best teams in the league through the first 30 games in the Oklahoma City Thunder. And Lakers star Anthony Davis believes the Saturday night meeting in Oklahoma is a must-win given what the Lakers have been going through recently.
D’Angelo Russell takes accountability for recent struggles
Russell has really been struggling recently, averaging just 9.8 points while shooting 37.5% from the field and 27.5% from 3-point range in the month of December.
After the Lakers’ most recent loss, he took accountability for those struggles, so hopefully Russell will be better for L.A. moving forward.
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