Grading Every Los Angeles Lakers Player Heading into 2015 NBA All-Star Break
No team needed the All-Star break as much the Los Angeles Lakers did.
The purple and gold are reeling after losing 15 of their last 16 contests and now look objectively worse than any team in the NBA not named the New York Knicks.
Let's use this natural pause in the campaign to reflect on the performance of each individual Laker so far this season and assign a letter grade.
Grades were determined relative to expectations heading into the season. Note that just because one player has a higher grade than another does not necessarily mean that player has been better; rather, he has just performed better relative to what was anticipated from him.
With that in mind, let's look at the Lakers' first-half report card.
Nos. 15-11: The (Mostly) Incompletes
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No. 15: Julius Randle
The entire purpose of this season for the Lakers was to develop Randle. That dream was dashed after just 14 minutes on opening night. Here's to a healthy return from the prized rookie.
Grade: Incomplete
No. 14: Xavier Henry
The injury bug strikes again. Henry has always been an intriguing talent, and the Lakers had a chance to coax his potential out of him. An Achilles tear is a major setback for this young man.
Grade: Incomplete
No. 13: Tarik Black
Los Angeles picked Black up off the scrap heap after the Houston Rockets dumped him. His energy has been refreshing, and it will be interesting to chart his development the rest of the way.
Grade: Incomplete
No. 12: Ryan Kelly
Kelly began the year on the sidelines and is only just starting to round into form. His three-point stroke is on point, but he's making less than 25 percent of his two-point shots. It's still a small sample size, so expect that number to regress toward the mean as his reps increase.
Grade: Incomplete
No. 11: Robert Sacre
Nothing major was expected out of Sacre this season, but he has dropped off significantly from where he was last year. His numbers are down across the board, and only Ronnie Price has a lower player efficiency rating among Lakers who have played at least 500 minutes, per Basketball-Reference.com. A 7-footer who doesn't take threes should not be shooting 40 percent from the field.
Grade: C-
10. Wesley Johnson
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Did you know that Wesley Johnson has played over 100 minutes more than any other Laker this season?
Me neither.
That's because Johnson has a tendency to disappear for long stretches of games. You don't even notice he's out there.
Johnson instills a lot of frustration in the Lakers fanbase. He has all the tools to succeed—the size (6'7", 205 lbs), length, athleticism, movement, fluidity—but has never been able to put it together.
He showed some flashes last season that maybe he had some untapped potential left in him, but he's displayed no improvement whatsoever this season.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, only five players in the entire league who have played at least as many minutes as Johnson have a lower PER. Most of those players at least excel at one specific thing that gives them some value. Johnson is just sort of below average at everything.
You have to get more out of a guy who plays as much as Johnson does.
Grade: C-
9. Nick Young
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Young has been a severe disappointment for the Lakers this season.
Coming off the best year of his career, he gave off a false sense of reliability. When the Lakers struggled coming out of the gate with Young sidelined, his return was pinpointed as the team's salvation.
It even seemed like that was true as he picked up right where he left off upon returning. But the truth has been exposed: Young is the same streaky lottery ticket he's always been.
Now that his hot three-point shooting has crashed back to earth, Young is almost a liability on the court. Over his past 16 games he's shooting just 30 percent from the field and 26 percent from downtown while not creating any shots for his teammates or playing strong defense.
Those numbers are real, folks, and this is from a guy who's supposed to be the team's No. 1 scoring option without Kobe Bryant. Yikes.
Injuries have slowed his game even more, and Byron Scott even had to resort to benching Young in a recent contest. Hopefully, the extended break will give him a chance to reset and get back in his groove.
Grade: C-
8. Jeremy Lin
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The Lakers' biggest offseason move was acquiring Jeremy Lin from the Houston Rockets. It was a sound move that netted a first-round pick in addition to a starting-caliber point guard who could be an offensive threat.
It hasn't quite worked out that way.
Lin hasn't added much firepower to L.A.'s offensive attack. For the season, L.A. scores at nearly the same rate whether Lin is out there or not, per NBA.com.
His main attraction was his ability to get into the paint and cause havoc, but he hasn't penetrated the defense as often this season. According to NBA.com, Lin's drives per game have decreased from 7.3 per game last season to 5.9 per game this season.
Lin's shot selection has gotten more inefficient as well. He's attempting a career-low share of his field goals within three feet while firing more mid-range jumpers than ever before, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Meanwhile, his defense has been a disaster. Opposing point guards are slicing open the Lakers defense at the point of attack because Lin can't stay with his man.
According to 82games.com, Lin's counterparts are posting a ridiculous 21.3 PER against him. That means he makes his average opponent look better than Kyrie Irving, John Wall or Kyle Lowry.
Nothing against Ronnie Price, but if he takes your job, you're having a subpar season, to say the least.
Grade: C
7. Carlos Boozer
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Boozer has had a nice bounce-back campaign on the offensive end. His field-goal percentage has climbed over 50 percent for the first time in three years, and his mid-range jumper looks as polished as it was in his prime.
The problem is he gives all those gains back on defense, and then some.
His rebound rate is at a career low, and he sports the worst defensive rating of his career as well, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Boozer's game has picked up since moving to a reserve role. He's been the focal point of L.A.'s offense recently, and the Lakers have had a difficult time scoring without him on the court.
Over the last 15 games, the Lakers are scoring nine points per 100 possessions more when Boozer is on the floor as opposed to on the bench, per NBA.com.
But, of course, that is cancelled out by L.A. being over six points per 100 possessions worse on the other end.
Boozer's idea of rim protection is trying to get away with pushing opponents in the back, and the layup parade he presides over negates his healthy offensive contributions.
Grade: C
6. Kobe Bryant
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Bryant is the hardest to assess because expectations fluctuated so wildly for him coming into the season.
At first it was a blessing simply to have him back on the court doing Kobe Bryant things. He was still getting his points—even leading the league in scoring for a stretch—but they were getting increasingly harder to come by, leading to a rough field-goal percentage.
People hoped the accuracy would rise as the rust wore off, but it never did. Then his body started to go as Bryant regularly sat out games to rest his aging limbs.
Finally, a torn rotator cuff knocked Bryant out of the lineup for good.
The sample was large enough, though, that we saw what kind of production Bryant was going to put out all season. His shooting wasn't going to get much better, and though he embraced the role of facilitator near the end, it didn't help L.A.'s offense all that much.
For the season, the Lakers have been better on both sides of the ball without Bryant on the court, per NBA.com. The truth isn't as black-and-white as the numbers suggest, but he is clearly never going to be an elite player in this league again.
He gets a lot of credit just for fighting his way back on the court at a reasonably high level, but you have to downgrade him as well for his ugly shooting and lack of defense.
Grade: C+
5. Ronnie Price
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Ronnie Price grades out favorably this season because there were no expectations on him coming into the year. In fact, he wasn't even a likely candidate to make the team.
Yet Price went from emergency backup to starter and deserves some credit. His defensive tenacity tangibly affected games and made him a valuable batterymate for Kobe Bryant in L.A.'s backcourt.
He has already compiled more minutes this season than any other in his career and leads the team in steals per game.
Price's offensive game is minimal, but he keeps the ball moving and looks to set up his teammates. His not needing the ball allowed Bryant to dictate terms, which made Price a better fit than Lin just by naturally staying out of the way.
The Lakers sorely miss Price and the defensive pressure he applies to opposing point guards.
Grade: B
4. Jordan Hill
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Hill has had to carry a bigger load than ever before, and he's done an adequate job handling it.
His overall efficiency has dropped off compared to the last couple of seasons, but he still boasts a PER above league average while playing significantly more.
The added strain shows up in a few different places. First, Hill's rebounding numbers are down. He's grabbing a higher raw total of boards than ever, but his percentage of total rebounds as well as rebounds per minute have fallen substantially.
He's also fallen in love with the outside jump shot as opposed to banging down low. According to Basketball-Reference, 41 percent of Hill's field-goal attempts came within three feet of the basket in 2014, while just 11 percent came from outside 16 feet.
This season has seen an almost 180-degree shift in his shot profile, as only 28 percent of his shots are within three feet of the goal and an astonishing 35 percent have come from 16 feet or more. His free-throw rate has also declined sharply as a result.
Hill has still done well enough offensively and on the glass to be a steady contributor for the Lakers this season. The decrease in his athletic indicators and shoddy rim protection hold him back from being a truly valuable piece.
Grade: B
3. Wayne Ellington
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Ellington's signing this past offseason was almost a throwaway move—just some extra insurance in case of injuries.
Well, those injuries have hit the Lakers hard, and he has stepped in admirably as the starting 2-guard.
He's already putting up career highs in scoring and minutes per game, and he's never shot better on two-point tries before.
Ellington creates space for the Lakers on offense, and the threat of his outside shot occupies the attention of opposing defenses. He's had to create more for himself lately, which he's not quite equipped to do, but he's a good enough shooter that if he can get even a sliver of space, his shot has a chance to find the bottom of the net.
Ellington is game on defense as well, but he doesn't have the size or athleticism to contain high-end wing scorers.
Given the meager expectations on him coming into the year, he has provided big value to the Lakers.
Grade: B+
2. Ed Davis
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Los Angeles' best move of the offseason was inking Davis to a minimum deal.
Davis has been a steady producer all year long, posting career highs across the board.
He leads the Lakers in PER, field-goal percentage, rebound rate and blocks and has racked up nearly twice as many win shares as anybody else on the squad, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Davis has been hyper-efficient offensively, mainly by sticking to his strengths and concentrating on finishing around the basket.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, nearly 71 percent of his attempts have come from within three feet of the hoop—his career mark is 51 percent.
Defensively, he is L.A.'s only credible rim protector. He's still too slight to handle post-up behemoths one-on-one, but he's a smart help defender who can challenge shots from the weak side and clean the glass.
Davis has been one of the few bright spots for the Lakers this season and has provided excellent bang for the buck.
Grade: B+
1. Jordan Clarkson
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Clarkson grades out the most favorably of any Laker this season. He has basically taken Julius Randle's spot as the rookie who will get plenty of opportunity to develop this season, and he is the only reason for Lakers fans to tune in at all to the second half of the campaign.
As a mid-second-round pick, Clarkson didn't carry any expectations into the season. He was seemingly buried on the depth chart behind Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin and quickly fell behind Ronnie Price as well.
Injuries up and down the roster have elevated Clarkson into a starting role, and he has responded admirably.
He's not tearing it up by any means, but most rookie second-rounders don't have the impact that Clarkson has had for L.A.
He has shown no fear and relentlessly attacks the basket on offense. More than half of his shots have come within 10 feet of the goal, per Basketball-Reference.com, and he's converting a strong 61 percent of his attempts within three feet.
The jumper still needs work, and Clarkson's overall shooting percentages are low as a result. He also still needs to find the proper balance between going for his own shot and setting up his teammates.
On the positive side, he has kept his turnover rate low—a terrific sign for someone who is just starting out in the league. As time goes on, he will become a better passer as well.
The Lakers may have unearthed a gem late in the draft. The hope that Clarkson brings, along with his impressive play above expectations, gets him top marks on this squad.
Grade: A-
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