A Way Too Early Assessment of the New Look Lakers
The L.A. Lakers have played five games since trading Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz. The Jazz bought out Westbrook, who was just signed by the L.A. Clippers. Westbrook is scheduled to make his Clippers debut tonight versus the Sacramento Kings. It is way to early too make a meaningful and objective evaluation of the new look Lakers, and there is no data yet about how the new look Clippers will perform--but that does not stop media members from making bold proclamations about how great the Lakers will be and how Westbrook will "ruin" the Clippers, so let's dive in and join the fun!
Below are two paragraphs. Every stated fact/statistic in both paragraphs is accurate, but one paragraph uses facts/statistics out of context while the other paragraph places facts/statistics in context. You can think about this as the difference between writing for the "Galaxy's Leader in Sports" versus writing for an independent website that is not beholden to a particular agenda or particular interests.
Paragraph #1:
"Since trading Russell Westbrook, the L.A. Lakers--who have languished below the .500 mark all season--have gone 3-2, including two wins versus the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. The Lakers' winning percentage sans Westbrook and projected over 82 games indicates that the Lakers are now a 50 win caliber team. Last night, the Lakers routed the Warriors 124-111 while shooting 16-30 from three point range despite LeBron James scoring just 13 points on 5-20 field goal shooting. Malik Beasley, one of the players acquired in the Westbrook trade, led the Lakers with 25 points. Beasley shot 9-16 from the field, including 7-11 from three point range. The Lakers have made at least 10 three point field goals in each of their past three games."
Paragraph #2:
"Since trading Russell Westbrook, the L.A. Lakers have gone 3-2. In the Lakers' first game without Westbrook, LeBron James did not play, nor did the players acquired for Westbrook, and the Lakers lost to Milwaukee, 115-106. James also missed each of the Lakers' next two games, a win versus the Golden State Warriors (sans Stephen Curry) and a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. James returned to action as the Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans (sans Zion Williamson) and the Golden State Warriors (sans both Curry and Andrew Wiggins). Overall, in the past five games the Lakers are scoring 114.8 ppg while giving up 111.6 ppg; their season averages are 117.1 ppg scored and 118.1 ppg allowed, but this five game sample size is not only small but it includes two games against a Warriors team that is now 29-30 plus a game versus a Pelicans team that is 30-30 but just 13-18 this season without Williamson. The Lakers have shot 53-147 (.361) from three point range since trading Westbrook, a slight increase from their season three point shooting percentage (.340)--but that five game sample includes three games without James, who leads the team in three point field goal attempts per game (6.9) despite shooting just .310 from beyond the arc this season. The Lakers now go on the road to face Dallas, Memphis, and Oklahoma City, three games that will provide a better measuring stick of how good the new look Lakers are than games against struggling teams who are missing their best player."
Read both paragraphs again to consider how it is possible to state facts yet not tell the truth (a tactic frequently used by propagandists in a variety of fields, not just sports media).
The stretch run will be very interesting. If the Lakers demonstrate sustained improvement, it will be mostly because of better defense, and the most significant factor for the Lakers' defense is not the newly acquired players but rather the health and productivity of Anthony Davis, who anchors the defense in the paint and who finishes defensive possessions by grabbing rebounds. The Clippers have been a solid team this season despite Kawhi Leonard and Paul George each missing a significant number of games. Westbrook can provide paint scoring, rebounding, and playmaking while enabling the Clippers to push the pace and get easy transition baskets. If Leonard and George can stay healthy, the Leonard-George-Westbrook trio could be very formidable.
Labels: Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, L.A. Clippers, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Malik Beasley, Paul George, Russell Westbrook
posted by David Friedman @ 7:08 PM
