The Good, Bad and Ugly from Los Angeles Lakers' Early-Season Results
Five games into the 2014-15 season it's apparent that nothing good is in store for the Los Angeles Lakers this year.
The team is in full-on crisis mode after dropping its first five contests largely in embarrassing fashion.
Los Angeles is playing hard, led by a determined Kobe Bryant. But given the talent deficiency and the injuries hampering the ballclub, it hasn't been nearly enough against the stiff competition L.A. has faced in the early going.
Let's take stock of the season's first 10 days by breaking down what's been good, bad and ugly with the Lakers so far.
The Good: Kobe Bryant
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The only thing to watch for with the Lakers the rest of the season is Kobe Bryant.
The Black Mamba has come back strong from his lost 2014 campaign, currently leading the league in scoring at 27.6 points per game.
Bryant has looked as good physically as anyone could have hoped, even uncorking a vicious reverse slam hearkening back to his youth.
At his current pace, Bryant will pass Michael Jordan for third on the all-time scoring list in about a month's time, but his production has come at the cost of efficiency.
Bryant's 24.4 field-goal attempts a night are nearly five more than any other player in the NBA, and his 40.2 percent field-goal percentage would mark a career low.
He has never had to work so hard for his shots. The Lakers have no other threats on offense, and Bryant isn't as explosive as he once was. The result has been a ton of forced mid-range jumpers, which is the least desirable shot in basketball.
So far on the year, Bryant has taken more shots from between 15 and 19 feet than the entire Houston Rockets team—in one fewer game no less.
It's always fun to see Kobe rack up the points, but taking 37 shots to get to 39 points as he did against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday isn't the best formula for winning games.
Then again, what else can the Lakers do?
The Bad: Defense and Injuries
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The Lakers were expected to have a below-average defense heading into the season, but their point prevention has been downright horrific thus far.
They are dead last in the league in defensive efficiency, allowing six points more per 100 possessions than any other team in the NBA.
Opponents have brutalized L.A. in all the prime pieces of real estate on the floor.
No team allows opponents to shoot a higher percentage in the restricted area.
Only one team surrenders more trips to the foul line.
And only one team gives up a higher percentage of made three-point attempts.
Byron Scott was supposed to bring the Lakers up to snuff on that side of the ball. So far it hasn't worked.
Injuries have only made things tougher.
Steve Nash was ruled out for the season before it even began, and prized rookie Julius Randle couldn't even get through his career debut before also succumbing to a season-long malady.
Nick Young remains sidelined indefinitely, and Ryan Kelly only just returned after sitting out the entire preseason.
The injury bug that has repeatedly bitten this team over the last two years just refuses to go away.
The Ugly: Win-Loss Record
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An 0-5 start to the campaign is the franchise's worst opening since moving to Los Angeles.
And after taking a quick glance at the schedule, the bleeding isn't likely to stop anytime soon.
Eight of the next 10 tilts come against teams that qualified for the playoffs in 2014. The Lakers' best chance of staving off an 0-15 start is a home matchup against the struggling Denver Nuggets in two weeks.
It's not just the losses, but the way the losses have come.
Three of the five have been blowouts, and the Lakers have allowed at least 108 points in all five contests.
They are being outscored by an absurd 15.8 points per 100 possessions. That's last in the league and five points worse than even the lowly Philadelphia 76ers from a year ago.
It's only just begun, but the 2014-15 season can't end soon enough for the L.A. Lakers.
All advanced stats taken from NBA.com, unless otherwise noted.
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