Los Angeles Lakers: Lance Stephenson deserves more run

The Los Angeles Lakers are playing their worst basketball since their 0-3 start, and turning to Lance Stephenson would stabilize an injury-riddled rotation.

Injuries play a massive role in the NBA season, even if they aren’t season-ending. Teams can fall down the standings, especially in the Western Conference, with a bad stretch of games and injury luck for a couple weeks. The Los Angeles Lakers are undergoing their own extended issues with injuries and have plummeted down the standings from fourth to eighth in the playoff standings.

LeBron James has missed the last five games after straining his left groin on Christmas, and will be out for the next week at least before being re-evaluated. Rajon Rondo is out for a month after having surgery on his right right finger that was injured during that same Christmas game. JaVale McGee missed time with pneumonia, and now Kyle Kuzma missed a game with a back injury and is questionable for the team’s next game.

The Lakers are 1-4 in the five games LeBron and Rondo have missed, with four of the contests coming at home. The per-game numbers haven’t dipped too much, but their fourth quarter production, especially in the clutch, has been abysmal. They averaged 26.5 points per game in the final frame up until the Christmas Day contest, and have seen that number dip to 23.0 points in the last five games. Three points doesn’t seem like much, but the offense has been tough to watch in the closing minutes.

Brandon Ingram has been the main ball-handler in the fourth, and his numbers are not good with the game on the line. He’s shooting 30.4 percent from the field with 1.2 turnovers and has been a black hole to stop ball movement in the half-court. It’s not just him struggling. The team is shooting 26.9 percent on 10.4 3-point attempts per fourth quarter over the last five games, which is not ideal for opening up the driving lanes Ingram needs to play his best ball.

The previous three quarters have been solid for the Lakers, with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope being the brightest spot. KCP has taken on a larger role, scoring 17.6 points a night over the last five games, connecting on 41.5 percent of his 8.2 3-point attempts in 30.6 minutes per game. Lonzo Ball is also shooting the ball better from deep (46.4 percent), but there aren’t many positives to take since Christmas.

They clearly miss a playmaker or floor general to keep everybody in line, make the right decision when the game slows down and break down a defense. They’re playing mostly young players that can’t consistently create their own shots, something that is vital in the fourth quarter. With their two main ball-handlers in Rondo and LeBron out, turning to their other elder statesman ball-handler would be a smart move.

Lance Stephenson has to play more. There is no reason that a player who makes plays, has a consistent energy and plays hard should be logging 19.0 minutes per game when the team is so young and missing players of LeBron and Rondo’s caliber.

When Lance has been on the court over the last five games, the Lake Show are shooting a team-high 52.2 percent from the field. When he’s off the court, they shoot a team-worst 40.7 percent from the field. It’s not that he’s a super efficient player, but having somebody who actively looks for teammates while operating a pick-and-roll is an improvement on watching Ingram hold the ball for the majority of the shot clock and settle for a contested mid-range jumper.

The main factor with increasing Lance’s minutes is his attitude. Lonzo, Ingram, KCP and Josh Hart are good players, but rarely show passion and are calm on the court. That relaxing vibe is cool, yet none of them shows a great deal of energy. Lance’s energy is contagious. He gets the crowd on its feet, picks up players full-court, takes risks and is not afraid to bark at players.

Born Ready is tough-minded and understands that getting underneath an opponent’s skin is a way to get an advantage over them. He’s played in high-stakes playoff games and is a leader the young players can turn to until LeBron and Rondo return.

For all of Lance Stephenson’s antics, he is an entertaining yet productive player with the ball in his hands. With the Lakers struggling in the fourth quarter, why not throw Lance into the mix more often and have a player outside of Ingram that can generate offense?

https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1075199401960923137

Stephenson has been vocal as well, saying after the most recent loss to the New York Knicks on Jan. 4 that he’s putting the “loss all on himself” and needs to be the veteran leader for the team. This is a sign that he is welcoming a larger role both on the floor and off the floor.

Instead of simultaneously deploying Hart and KCP, who are very similar in play style and forcing Ingram to do everything, the Lakers should throw another ball-handler in the mix to ease the load from Ingram. Born Ready is the only option at the moment, and who would say no to more of Lance playing his air guitar?