Excluding teams currently embroiled in the latest NBA tanking discourse, the Los Angeles Lakers are among the league’s teams in disarray.
While the Lakers sit in the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference (two games ahead of the Pacific Division rival Phoenix Suns), they’ve dropped two games in a row entering a Feb. 26 matchup against Phoenix and are a mediocre 5-5 over their past 10 games. Questions abound about the team’s defensive acuity, LeBron James’ age, and, perhaps most fervently, Deandre Ayton’s game-to-game impact.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin broke that latter point down in a recent piece headlined, “Why the Lakers’ success depends on Deandre Ayton — and vice versa.