5 Reasons for Los Angeles Lakers' Sloppy Early-Season Play

The Los Angeles Lakers have amassed a 9-5 record, second place in the Pacific Division and a fifth seed in the Western Conference. Their success, however, has been anything but easy.

The Lakers are averaging 16.3 turnovers per game—fifth worst in the NBA—and have looked very inconsistent on the floor through their first 14 games.

Let's look at five reasons that help explain the Lakers' sloppy early-season play.

5. New Personnel

The Lakers core of KB24, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Metta World Peace and Derek Fisher has remained in tact from last year.

But there have been plenty of new additions around the edges.

Jason Kapono, Troy Murphy and Josh McRoberts are all playing their first seasons as Lakers.

Devin Ebanks, too, can hypothetically be included in this bunch after sitting out the majority of last season with a fractured left leg and only logging a total of 118 minutes (5.9 minutes per his 20 games in 2010-11).

Many lineups you'll see on the floor for the Lakers, particularly in the second unit, have never played with one another.

Throw in the two Laker rookies Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris, and you've got the recipe for some shoddy play.

4. Players Playing into Shape

With the exception of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, Lakers players were not as active as they could have been during the prolonged lockout offseason.

A two-week training camp and fewer full-contact practices means players will have to find their game legs during actual games, essentially playing their way into shape.

Metta World Peace admittedly came into training camp with less-than-superior conditioning

Andrew Bynum was sidelined to start the season, forcing him to get into game shape on the floor.

Derek Fisher was not given adequate training time this offseason due to his responsibilities as president of the players' union.

As the season moves on and Lakers players improve their conditioning, their play on the court will also improve.

3. Compressed Schedule

The Lakers have played 14 games in the NBA season—tied with the Chicago Bulls for most in the league.

Fatigue should not be an issue, as the season is still early, but compared to other teams, the Lakers have logged more minutes than their opponents. Case in point was Saturday's game versus the Clippers.

The Lakers were playing their second of a back-to-back while the Clippers were coming off two-and-a-half days of rest.

Less energy translates into inefficient basketball, and the Lakers' early-season sloppy play can be partially blamed on their top-heavy schedule from the outset.

2. Learning a New System

When it comes to Mike Brown's new offensive and defensive systems, the Lakers are essentially learning on the job.

Mike Brown's principles are not complicated. After all, it's just basketball and these are professionals. 

But applying the new terminology, rotations, spacing and decision-making at game speed and to muscle memory requires full-contact practices—opportunities the Lakers have not been afforded due to the density of their schedule.

Mike Brown has been forced to give his players rest at practice—doing walkthroughs and non-contact drills instead of team scrimmages—to remain fresh for game time.

To correct their mistakes and put Brown's new concepts to work, the Lakers need a break in the schedule to allow for more substantial practice time.

Until then, they're learning as they go.

1. Kobe Bryant Shot Attempts

On the season, the NBA's top scorer is averaging 25 shot attempts. As a general basketball rule, no player should be taking more than 25 shots per game in an effort to distribute the rock and play team-oriented basketball.

Yet on this historic streak of 40-plus point games, Mamba has jacked up 31, 31, 31 and 28 shot attempts his last four games.

Be it far from me to tell the best player in the game that he shouldn't shoot the ball so much. The Lakers are 3-4 in these 40-point games, and all that matters are the W's.

But the team's offensive inconsistencies can certainly be traced to No. 24 dominating every possession down the floor.

I'm sure Mamba would rather he not have to score as much. Bryant takes over games when his team needs it. But when he does, the team's offense gets even further out of rhythm. 

A Catch 22, yes, but so long as the team is winning, bombs away—there's a reason they chant M-V-P in the STAPLES Center.