Last Week:6↓
2023-24 record: 47-35
OffRtg: 115.4 (15) DefRtg: 114.8 (17) NetRtg: +0.6 (19) Pace: 101.4 (4)
Key addition(s): Dalton Knecht
Key departure(s): Taurean Prince
Coaching change: Darvin Ham out, JJ Redick in
Three numbers to know:
The Lakers led the league last season in both restricted-area differential at plus-6.3 points per game and free throw differential at plus-4.6 points per game, with the latter being the largest differential for any team in the last six years.
They averaged 3.5 fewer shooting opportunities than their opponents-the league’s worst discrepancy. They were in the bottom 10 in both turnover differential and offensive rebound differential.
After averaging 1,463 regular-season minutes together over the previous two regular seasons, the Lakers played LeBron James and Anthony Davis together for 1,726 last season. Their 2,107 minutes together in the playoffs were the most of any on-court duo during the ’23 playoffs.
Key question: Is there a path to improvement?
Knecht is a fifth-year senior and is two years older than third-year guard Max Christie, so he could certainly be ready to contribute right away. But it’s hard to see how the Lakers are better than they were last season, when James games and Davis games each played more than 70.
We’ll see how things change with Redick. Closing that shooting-opportunity gap by placing a greater emphasis on offensive rebounding-the Lakers ranked 29th in offensive rebounding percentage last season-could make a difference, and a healthier Jarred Vanderbilt-who played just 29 games last season-would certainly help in that regard.
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