Los Angeles Lakers’ ball movement lagging behind

Despite lurking in the top 15 in team assists per game, the Los Angeles Lakers are struggling with ball movement in the half-court.

The Los Angeles Lakers came into the season hoping to push the pace for increased transition opportunities and more ball and player movement when the game slowed to the half-court. They have followed through on upping the tempo, but are lagging when it comes to their ball movement in the half-court setting, and it’s hurting them in close games down the stretch.

For starters, the Lakers are near the bottom of the league in passes per game and possession. A large chunk of their shots come in transition, which could be a reason the passing numbers are so low, but their lack of ball movement is not up to par with how head coach Luke Walton wants this offense to look.

They are towards the bottom in the league in secondary assists, which is the pass that leads to the assist, or a hockey assist. This is a strong indicator of successful ball movement, and the Lakers don’t fare well at all in this category.

The Lakers’ offense in the half-court has been stagnant most of the season. They run a high pick-and-roll with shooters spotting up around the perimeter. This is a good foundation to build an offense around if you have an above-average ball-handler to create for others, which is not something the Lakers have on their roster outside of maybe Jordan Clarkson.

A way to overcome a lack of playmakers is to have consistent off-ball movement from the other players on the court. Whether it’s cutting along the baseline, shifting to open spaces when defenses help and screening for teammates, the Lakers players don’t do a great job at these aspects and find themselves standing aside and ball-watching too often.

Increasing off-ball movement in those ways could give them easier looks given over half of their shots come with a defender within four feet of the shooter, among the most in the NBA. Defenders are allowed to keep their eyes focused on the ball when players are stagnant because they don’t have to worry about players going backdoor on them.

This is evident in recent weeks when the Lakers have collapsed in the final minutes of games. The tempo slows down as the game goes on, and defenses are taking advantage of the Lakers moving to an isolation-based offense with little to no movement away from the ball.

It should be noted these attributes take time to develop, and the Lakers are a youthful team with plenty to learn. Lonzo Ball cuts well and is open for backdoor passes (often throwing his hands up in frustration after not being seen), but teammates aren’t looking for him.

The Los Angeles Lakers should consider going back to the basics and simply pass and cut with intent off the ball. Your offense gets much tougher to defend if players are constantly moving instead of spotting up and waiting for the ball.

Off-ball action takes focus off the ball-handler, opening up lanes for them to drive and create. This movement and sharing the ball will keep everybody engaged and active, which translates to more energy on the defensive end as well.

There aren’t many players on the current Lakers roster that are known for their off-ball movement  (Josh Hart comes to mind), so transition and iso-ball may be at the forefront of this Lakers team.

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I’d expect them to add more motion and passing into their offense as the season wanes on, however. It’s essential to late-game execution and an efficient offense. This is something to monitor moving forward throughout the season and see how far the progress in their ball and off-ball movement.