Turnover-riddled Lakers need to solve these 3 problems to start winning games

Their last two losses have shown that the Los Angeles Lakers have a lot of problems they need to fix before they can start winning.

Turnover-riddled Lakers need to solve these 3 problems to start winning games

Luka Doncic, Lebron James and Los Angeles Lakers have lost last two games

Since joining the Los Angeles Lakers via the most shocking trade in NBA history, Luka Doncic has played in three games. The scoreline until earlier yesterday was 1-1, splitting games against the Utah Jazz. Today, LeBron James and his teammates faced another bottom rung team, the Charlotte Hornets, and again lost.

Any basketball fan having extensive experience watching and analyzing the sport will tell you that these are early days. Growing pains are a part of any sport as players take some time to adjust to their new surroundings.

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In this case, Charles Barkley seemed to have correctly predicted that it will not be easy. So far, his belief has found proof in the form of inefficient basketball. The game showed the team has multiple problems to solve before they can start winning.

This team is touted to be capable of giving the big dogs a fight in the playoffs. But to get there, they have to continue winning games. After starting this month with five straight wins, their last two have showed that the team has to fix those problems before it can enjoy wins again.

Turnovers killing their game

Before today’s game, the Hornets were the second-worst team in the league. Therefore, it will be quite normal if they commit seventeen turnovers. But no one expects the Lakers to commit eighteen of them especially since they have two of the most intelligent players in the league.

Luka Doncic committed six of them, but more crucially, five of them came in the first six minutes of the game. Thankfully it was against the Hornets. If it was against a playoff team, the Lakers could have been down by double digits.

That was also one of the reasons the Los Angeles Lakers were ahead until four minutes left in the third quarter. Had Doncic not committed those turnovers, they could have had a larger lead, which in turn could have kept the game in the face of third-quarter Hornets rally that flipped the game on its head.

Los Angeles Lakers are struggling to shoot consistently

That 22-1 Charlotte Hornets rally was when the Los Angeles Lakers missed ten straight shots. If there is anything more dangerous than turnovers, it is their inability to shoot efficiently. Missed shots are opportunities for the opposing team.

A solid playoff contender will convert a few more of those misses, therefore, the Lakers might have got away without their doors being blown out. Next up, they will face the Denver Nuggets, a team that has always beat them.

If their shooting woes continue, their Kryptonite Nuggets will likely give them a beating that could be embarrassing. Luka Doncic agreed he is rusty as his 1-9 from the three showed. But it is not just confined to him as his new teammates are also struggling.

The likes of Austin Reaves and the bench are just not shooting efficiently. It seems as if they took their foot off the gas after playing exceedingly well since the middle of January. If anything, HC JJ Redick has to pull his players back to the gym and push them to get back into rhythm.

Help Luka Doncic on defense until he improves

They can improve their shooting all they want, but without an improved defense, they will continue to struggle. They now possess some good players to guard the perimeter. Signing Alex Len can help shore up the interior.

But none of that works unless they can help cover for Luka Doncic. In that game-changing rally, the Charlotte Hornets specifically targeted the Slovenian. They kept switching up until one of their primary scorers faced him one-on-one.

The most telling one was the way LaMelo Ball embarrassingly juked Doncic on his way to the basket. Even the Lakers fans inside Crypto.com Arena were left with their jaws dropping. It showed that the superstar was not near peak fitness and is a liability on defense.

His defensive miscues are already well established. Hopefully JJ Redick and his staff can help him improve that aspect of his game. But until then, either LeBron James, Dorian Finney-Smith or Jarred Vanderbilt will have to play a two-man game. Else the Lakers will continue to lose games easily.