5 Things That Have to Happen for Los Angeles Lakers to Eclipse Expectations

Following four straight defeats to start their long NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers are registering very low readings on the expectation meter.

A look at this snake-bit roster would seem to indicate it won’t take much to exceed those expectations. When you’re at the bottom, there’s only one direction to go.

Last year’s disastrous 27-55 record was the Lakers worst since the franchise moved to Los Angeles from Minneapolis in 1960. To even reach that sad record this season will take some doing for the Purple and Gold, who seem more assured of a spot in the draft lottery than an improvement over last season.

A rejuvenated Kobe Bryant scored 19 and 31 points in his first two games back since missing most of last season. Still, the Lakers were drubbed by the Houston Rockets by 18 points and pounded by the Phoenix Suns (20 point loss).

Via ESPNLA.com, Bryant said, "We're not as bad as these two games."

He was right—the Lakers lost by just seven points on Friday to the Los Angeles Clippers. And yesterday, in Oakland against a highly touted Golden State Warriors team, the Lakers stayed close behind Bryant's blistering third quarter, but faded in the final minutes, having no answer for the combined 72 points put up by the backcourt of Klay Thompson (41) and Stephen Curry (31).

Expectations from the Lakers fanbase always runs high. When your team has won 16 world championships, the goal is always the sam: to win more of them. About the only things that seem certain in 2014-15 are that championships and playoff berths are simply not in the cards.

Had Steve Nash, Julius Randle, Nick Young and Bryant all started the season healthy and ready to contribute, the story line might be different. But with Nash (back) and Randle (broken leg) both gone for the year, and Young (thumb on shooting hand) out at least until December, the Lakers are sorely lacking in almost every area of play.

Lakers diehards may want a championship. They may expect a playoff berth. But, about all they can realistically hope to see are improvements from individual players and a determination to fight through their shortcomings.

A Healthy Kobe Bryant Must Average at Least 22 Points Per Game

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It shouldn't matter that Kobe Bryant is 36 years old, in his 19th NBA season and coming off two major, career-threatening injuries. The Laker fanbase is counting on him to do what he's been doing his entire professional life.

In normal times, seeing Bryant average 25 points per game as the team's go-to superstar would be a natural. Over the course of 18 NBA seasons, Kobe Bryant has been Mr. Durable.

He was durable until the end of the 2013 regular season, when he went down with a major Achilles injury.

Since that debilitating setback and a second serious mishap against the Memphis Grizzlies that shortened last year to just six games, Bryant has spent the past 18 months mostly in rehab.

Bryant’s fans, and there certainly are many of them, expect the 36-year-old veteran to come back strong this year. While it would be ludicrous to expect a younger version of Bryant, his recent performances seem to showcase the talents of a 22-24 points a game scorer.

Bryant came to training camp in good shape and looked solid in the preseason.  After pouring in 31 points against the Phoenix Suns, he came back Friday night against the Clippers with a vintage performance—at least until the final few minutes, when he missed three consecutive shots that might have tilted the game in favor of the Lakers.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with this loss actually,” Bryant told Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “We figured a lot of things out.”

Bryant is healthy, strong and performing. All he needs now is some consistent help from his teammates.

Nick Young Returning to the Form He Showed Last Season

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In just one season, small forward Nick Young went from being a third or fourth option on the Lakers to their leading scorer and legitimate number two behind Kobe Bryant in the pecking order.

And then he tried to get cute guarding the Mamba in practice and injured his thumb, a torn radial collateral ligament that has him out of the lineup for up to six weeks.

Said Coach Byron Scott in early October when the injury occurred (via ESPNLA.com):

"

It hurts us, as far as that's a guy that we know that can come off the bench and provide instant offense for us. Obviously, we're going to have to look elsewhere for that ... It hurts us.

"

Young averaged 18.8 points in 55 games coming off the bench last season. Overall, in 64 games, the 6'7" small forward set career marks for points (17.9) and three-point shooting (39 percent).

Young is being counted on to be the main spark plug on the second unit for the Lakers. He is one of the few players on the team who can spread the defense with his outside shooting. His absence was strongly felt the first week of the season.

Heading into Saturday's game against the Warriors, the Lakers as a team were shooting under 33 percent from beyond the arc.

Expect Young to change that. It's critical to the overall success of the team.

Better Defense

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The Lakers were one of the league’s worst defensive teams last year. They didn’t do a lot in the offseason to make it better.

Porous might actually be a kind adjective to describe L.A.’s see-through defense. The Lakers allowed 109.2 points a game last year, second worst in the NBA. They ranked last in rebounds allowed (49 per game).

The Lakers were last in giving up points in the paint, with 49.2 per game last year. After three games this year, the Lakers were giving up 34.7 points in the paint, a dramatic improvement but not enough to compensate for other deficiencies.

Pau Gasol, though not always known as a big stopper, nonetheless could be counted on for 10-12 rebounds a game. He left for the Chicago Bulls this summer.

The team added a defensive stopper in 6’11” power forward Ed Davis. And point guard Jeremy Lin, at 6’3”, is a better defensive player than any of the smaller guards the team employed a year ago.

Jordan Hill gobbles up rebounds and loose balls and, with more playing time this season, should help the team in the paint. Carlos Boozer has never really been known for his defense and thus far has proven that criticism to be more than accurate.

Byron Scott is good at preaching defense. To date, the Lakers have given up 108, 119 and 118 points in three losses to the Rockets, Suns and Clippers.

Based on what Scott told Los Angeles Times reporter Helene Elliott last month, his message is not yet getting through to the players:

"

It's just a matter of guys learning how to play with each other a little bit more. Communication has to be a lot better because there's a lot of things you can script in practice and some things that happen that you can't script, and if your communication is great then guys are able to work themselves out of it.

You're going to hear me talk about defense all season long until guys get to the point where they know that that's the main focus of our team this year.

"

Jeremy Lin Must Take Control of the Point

Jeremy Lin has a golden opportunity to finally secure his position as a solid, two-way NBA point guard.

With Steve Nash out for the entire season, Lin moved into the starter’s position with Kobe Bryant’s complete blessing. Over the first four games, it’s been a slow process, but Lin has shown signs of being a consistent scorer and more-than-adequate defender.

In the Lakers’ seven-point loss to the Clippers Friday night, Lin took it upon himself to break a tie late in the fourth quarter which could have turned the game into a win for L.A.

Waving off Bryant's request for the ball, Lin took a long-distance three-point attempt over the outstretched arms of Chris Paul and watched as the ball hit nothing but net, giving the Lakers a brief lead. He finished the night with nine assists and 17 points.

Bryant was thrilled, telling Baxter Holmes of ESPNLA.com:

"

You have to be able to assert yourself, especially on a team that I'm playing on -- especially on a team I'm playing on. Because I don't want chumps, I don't want pushovers, and if you're a chump and a pushover, I will run over you.

It's important for him to have that toughness and to say, 'I believe in myself. I can step up, I can make these plays, I can perform.' I think that is very, very important.

"

Lin missed all six shots in the lopsided loss Saturday night at Golden State. He did have six assists but his play was off in comparison to the night before.

The season will mark a turning point for Lin. He must be consistent, take shots, drive to the basket and find the open man for shots.

When he does it well, the Lakers will compete. When he doesn't, the Lakers will suffer. It's that simple.

Big Men Need to Dominate on Both Ends

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In Jordan Hill and Ed Davis, the Lakers appear to have two relatively young veterans with high energy and even higher upsides.

The 6'10", 240-pound Davis may prove to be the best acquisition by the Lakers this season. A standout from the University of North Carolina and former first-round draft pick of the Toronto Raptors, Davis has parlayed an efficient preseason into an outstanding start to the regular campaign.

As pointed out by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times:

"

Davis' combination of athleticism, mobility and overall court awareness might be valuable enough to eventually promote the 25-year-old to the starting lineup—especially if the Lakers continue to struggle.

"

Meanwhile, Hill went from the Mike D'Antoni doghouse to signing a two-year, $18 million extension with the Lakers and becoming their starting center this season. After a couple of ho-hum games against the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns, Hill has started to show the Lakers a more consistent, higher-scoring, better-defending big man in losses to the Clippers and Warriors.

Together, Hill and Davis represent the Lakers' best hope to shore up a low-post offense and defense which to date has been nothing short of abysmal. Both have high motors and battle for every rebound and loose ball.

Hill is more of an offensive threat away from the ball, having worked on a mid-range jumper that's finding its mark early on. He poured in 23 points against both the Clippers and Warriors, hitting on 20 of 29 shots for the two games. He also is averaging eight rebounds per 28.8 minutes that he's played in the team's first four games.

The other Lakers big man with big expectations is veteran Carlos Boozer, who signed with the Lakers this summer. The 32-year-old, 6'9" power forward started the season well by scoring 17 points against the Rockets with seven rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes.

But over the next three games, Boozer's point totals were four, nine and nine. He had five turnovers against the Clippers and four more at Golden State. He'll need to pick up his game or risk losing minutes to Davis.

Lose Gasol, pick up Boozer: so far, not a very balanced move for L.A. In short, the Lakers come up short in the post. They also lack depth on the perimeter, at the point, at small forward and on the bench. Have I missed anything?

For Los Angeles to exceed expectations this season, they will need to see individual improvement at virtually every position on the court. This is a team that could easily break last year's franchise record for futility and lose 60 games or more.

Kobe Bryant already has one technical foul this season and looks like he could explode at any moment while watching this team implode so early in the year. He's trying hard, though, to remember the words and wisdom of a former head coach (Phil Jackson), who taught patience and preached control. Jackson also expected players to maximize their potential.

Bryant is preaching patience, though it doesn't always look that way on the court. Following their "best" loss of the season against the Clippers, Bryant told reporters (via New York Times):

"

You have to be able to assert yourself, especially on a team I’m playing on. I don’t want chumps and I don’t want pushovers. If you’re a chump and you’re a pushover, I will run over you. And so it’s important for them to have that toughness and to say ‘I believe in myself. I can step up and make these plays, I can perform.’ I think that’s very important.

"

It's going to be a long season.