Los Angeles Lakers Need To Find Consistency In Young Backcourt
The Los Angeles Lakers young backcourt of D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson has shown flashes, but needs to find more consistency on the court.
The Los Angeles Lakers' goals for this season became clearer by the midway point of December. It would be a season of growth for a young Lakers squad and to do what was possible to make sure they held onto their first round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Those goals became crystal clear at the NBA trade deadline.
The Lakers completed two trades at the deadline, both with the Houston Rockets and both involving older players. In the first trade, the Lakers sent Lou Williams to Houston in exchange for Corey Brewer and 2017 first-round pick.
In the second trade, they shipped out Marcelo Huertas and received Tyler Ennis.
The Lakers cemented home the youth movement when they decided to shut down center Timofey Mozgov for the season despite his being healthy. The same happened to Luol Deng shortly after, as he was also shut down for the season, according to ESPN.
Despite being the big free agency acquisitions for the team last offseason, both Mozgov and Deng will ride out the remainder of the season on the bench so the Lakers can see what their young players have.
It makes some sense. The Lakers can evaluate their younger players and the losses should continue piling up.
If the Lakers do not land in the top three of the 2017 NBA Draft, that pick will be sent to the Philadelphia 76ers and they will lose their 2019 first-round pick to the Orlando Magic.
There are a number of youngsters in the Lakers core with bright futures. Julius Randle and Ivica Zubac could be the future in the frontcourt with Brandon Ingram. Where the Lakers have arguably the most upside is in the backcourt.
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D'Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson are both very talented players. Russell was the No.2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft with a high ceiling. Clarkson was a diamond in the rough for the Lakers.
He was selected with the 46th overall pick in 2014 by the Washington Wizards and traded to Los Angeles.
With Williams traded away, both Russell and Clarkson saw an increased role with the team. Getting the two experience makes sense; they look like they are building blocks for the future. But the road has not always been smooth.
Both Russell and Clarkson have had their high points. Williams was having a career season off the Lakers bench. He carried a lot of the scoring load on his shoulders and other players have had to pick up the slack.
Russell and Clarkson have done it at times; since Williams has been traded, each player has recorded a career-high in points.
Russell poured in 40 points against the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers; Clarkson scored 35 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which topped his 30-point performance against the Philadelphia 76ers.
While it is encouraging to see the career-high games, they have also both put up duds in that period of time. Russell hadn't scored more than 14 points in the four games leading up to his career-high game, while Clarkson scored only five in the game before his scoring explosion.
The Lakers are OK with the players going through these growing pains; it is part of the process. But, they would undoubtedly like to see some more consistency from their backcourt. Russell has shown flashes playing off-ball, while Clarkson has had his role changed each season in the NBA.
Part of finding consistency is on Luke Walton and the coaching staff finding specific roles for each player to fill. These roles could change next season, especially if the Lakers land a top pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
But, no matter the role, the players need to find more consistency, with the backcourt combo of Russell and Clarkson leading the way.
