Los Angeles Lakers: Team’s biggest early-season disappointments

Protecting the basketball

Committing turnovers was a big problem for the Lakers a season ago. With a group of young, often overeager players controlling most possessions, it came as no surprise when they finished the 2016-17 campaign tied for 23rd in the league in turnovers per game.

Unfortunately, zero progress has been made in that category. In fact, they’re currently turning the ball over at the second-highest clip in the NBA with 17.4 turnovers per game.

Part of the reason the Lakers viewed Ball as the clear-cut pick at No. 2 overall was his elite passing skills. While we’ve obviously seen him put those on display more than a few times, it’s become abundantly clear that he’s still got work to do in that department.

Ball currently leads the team in turnovers per game (2.5), and has given it away four or more times in five of his 12 games. What’s worse is that his usage rate (19.1) isn’t even that high — it’s actually seventh-highest on the Lakers.

It’s not just Ball, though. Brandon Ingram is the second-highest in terms of turnovers with 2.3 per game. Behind him are Julius Randle (2.2), Jordan Clarkson (2.1) and Brook Lopez (2.0). That is way too many turnovers on a nightly basis. Winning in the NBA is largely about making the most of every opportunity — you can’t do that when you keep giving the other team the ball.

One of the big positives for the Lakers this season is their markedly improved defense. While that’s great they’re finally playing some respectable defense, it doesn’t matter much if they’re gifting opponents possessions.