Takeaways from the Lakers’ first five games of the season

Entering the season, the Los Angeles Lakers faced questions about how the year would unfold. The decision to hire a first-time head coach in JJ Redick, combined with a quiet offseason, led many to speculate if the Lakers should’ve been counted out before the season had even begun. 

The Lakers currently have a 3-2 record. After starting the year with a three-game winning streak, they’ve come down to Earth. Through five games, it is still too early to predict how the year will turn out for the Purple and Gold, but the early results offer insight into what this group can accomplish. 

Here are some early takeaways in the Lakers’ first week of action: 

Dalton Knecht is set up to be an important rotational piece

The 17th overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft was highly regarded as one of the more complete players in his class. Knecht’s extensive college experience has allowed him to be plugged directly into the Lakers’ rotation, showing signs of becoming a key piece in the rotation. 

Five games into his professional career, Knecht has shown gradual improvement, steadily boosting his scoring output. 

He is currently shooting 45% from the field and is contributing 8.2 points per game. In his most recent game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Knecht put up a career-high 18 points. If this trend continues Knecht could see an increased role and become a big factor in the team’s success. 

The jury is still out on Gabe Vincent 

After only playing in 11 games last season due to a knee injury, Vincent’s return to the court was supposed to compensate for the lack of movement the Lakers did in free agency. Through the first five games, Vincent is not as productive offensively as hoped, currently averaging 3.4 points per game, shooting 33.3% from the field and 25% from deep. 

There is still plenty of time for Vincent to settle into his role and improve his scoring. Though he likely won’t be asked to produce large scoring outputs, improving in this area would help the Lakers get more out of their second unit. 

Road games may be an issue 

 Last season, the Lakers posted a mediocre 19-21 road record, and this season, they are already 0-2 on the road. In their first road game, the Lakers struggled to close out the half, getting outscored by 11 in the second quarter by the Phoenix Suns, who took the lead into halftime. After gaining the lead in the third, the Lakers were outscored by 11 in the fourth quarter as the Suns secured victory. 

The team’s trip to Cleveland was dismal, after going down 42-23 in the first quarter, Los Angeles never recovered. With their next three games away from Crypto.com Arena, it will be worth keeping an eye on how the team begins and closes out games to see if there are any signs of a pattern.  

A quality-over-quantity three-point approach would be effective 

Redick has commented that he wants his team to take more shots from deep. Although the Lakers are attempting roughly one less three-pointer compared to last season, Redick’s new offensive system creates more quality looks from deep. 

The Lakers are 2-1 this season when knocking down 14 or more threes. Though the bread and butter of this offense appears to be getting good driving lanes and mid-range shots, capitalizing on open looks from three that this offense produces will elevate the Lakers to a new level.