Lakers' Biggest Surprises Through Opening 3 Weeks of 2021-22 NBA Season
The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2021-22 season as arguably the NBA's most interesting team.
Three weeks, six wins, five losses, a bunch of injuries and some clutch moments have done nothing to change that status.
In that respect, the Lakers are kind of what we thought they were. Except, we didn't really have any idea of what they'd be after they radically reshaped the roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis this offseason.
L.A. hasn't been short on surprises so far, and these three rank among the biggest.
Turnover Problems
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It's easy to see the Lakers sitting 22nd in turnover percentage, per NBA.com, and want to pile all the blame on Russell Westbrook. He is, after all, the category's league-leader with a mind-numbingly bad 5.1 giveaways per game.
But this isn't all on the Brodie. James is only six spots behind him with 4.2 turnovers per game. When Rajon Rondo has hit the hardwood, he has coughed it up at a rate of 4.6 turnovers per 36 minutes, per Basketball-Reference. Even Dwight Howard is somehow at 2.8 turnovers per 36 minutes.
The Lakers shouldn't be this bad at ball control. Remember, sound decision-making was supposed to be one of the few perks of fielding a roster primarily of 30-somethings.
"Age does equal experience," Lakers coach Frank Vogel told reporters before the season. "IQ, intelligence, (that) helps you win."
L.A. doesn't have the offensive firepower or the defensive stoppers to get away with shooting itself in the foot. The ball control must improve, and the roster is experienced enough to know that.
Carmelo Anthony Turning Back the Clock
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There was a chance Carmelo Anthony's Lakers tenure would peak before the season even started. In other words, the story of his long-awaited arrival in L.A. and joining forces with 2003 draft classmate and longtime friend James was bigger than anything that could take place on the basketball court.
But Anthony, who turned 37 in May, had other ideas. His 17.6 points per game are the most he has averaged since 2016-17 (his last All-Star season), and his fire-balling shooting slash line of 50.0/52.0/82.6 includes career-high connection rates from the field and from range.
He has become an unlikely barometer for this team, averaging 20.5 points on 61.4 percent shooting in wins and 14.2 points on 37.9 percent shooting in losses. He is an essential component of the club, which seems improbable for someone who was effectively out of the NBA for a year before latching on with the Portland Trail Blazers in November 2019.
Austin Reaves Grabbing a Rotation Spot
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Back in late July, 60 different players were drafted into the NBA during the annual talent grab. Just nine of them have logged more minutes than Austin Reaves, who never heard his name called that night.
The 23-year-old instead scored a two-way pact from the Lakers as an undrafted free agent, then showed enough at summer league to have his contract converted to a standard NBA deal before training camp opened.
Reaves hasn't slowed down since. After being stuck on the sideline opening night, he played 12 minutes in the next tilt and has kept adding to that number. For the season, he is getting 21.3 minutes per night, and one could argue that isn't enough since the Lakers are faring 15.4 points better per 100 possessions with him than without, per NBA.com.
The freshman already shows the glue-guy ability of reading the game to see where he needs to fit and molding his approach to do it.
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