A look at the plus-minus rankings for the Los Angeles Lakers in this 2023-24 season has yielded some interesting returns. Anthony Davis surprisingly doesn’t even land a spot in the top 10, while D’Angelo Russell is all the way up at No. 2, via the NBA.
1. Rui Hachimura: +56
2. D’Angelo Russell: +53
3. Christian Wood: +21
4. LeBron James: +11
5. Jarred Vanderbilt: +8
T6. Dylan Windler: +4
T6. Skylar Mays: +4
8. Gabe Vincent: -2
9. Colin Castleton: -10
10. Max Christie: -13
11. Alex Fudge: -20
12. Cam Reddish: -23
13. Anthony Davis: -28
14. Maxwell Lewis: -33
15. D’Moi Hodge: -35
16. Jalen Hood-Schifino: -37
17. Jaxson Hayes: -53
18. Taurean Prince: -96
19. Austin Reaves: -137
Now, plus-minus obviously isn’t the most accurate way to evaluate players, but you can certainly draw some conclusions from it. When it comes to Davis, in particular, it’d be bizarre to suggest he is a net negative on the court for the Lakers, who are 19-21 on the season.
The 30-year-old is averaging 25.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.6 blocks per game this season, and has arguably been their best player. He has missed two games in this campaign and the Lakers were blown out in both, losing to the Houston Rockets and the San Antonio Spurs.
So, what does his having a negative here indicate? Well, it suggests to me that he has been out there a lot with certain groups of players who just aren’t a great fit together. Perhaps, head coach Darvin Ham needs to find different combinations of players who are a better fit with the big man, especially when LeBron James is not on the court.
Going to the top, it is surprising that Rui Hachimura and Russell occupy the top two spots. Hachimura’s presence there can somewhat be explained by the fact that he missed that infamous 44-point blowout loss to the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this season due to injury. He’d have still been a positive had he played, but wouldn’t have been at the top.
Russell is a very interesting one, however. Calls for him to be traded away have been growing louder as the season has gone on, but he has managed to be a positive. It still doesn’t mean his future is with the franchise, though, and I expect the 27-year-old, who has averaged 15.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game this season, to be traded before the deadline.
Lastly, we get to Austin Reaves, who has by far the worst plus-minus on the team at -137. Reaves is a fan favorite in Los Angeles and has put in some incredible performances over the last year or so, but some worrying signs have emerged recently.
The 25-year-old is operating at a fairly high level on offense and is averaging 15.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 0.9 steals per game, but is getting relentlessly hunted on defense. Bradley Beal, in particular, tormented him when the Lakers faced the Phoenix Suns.
A team can look past deficiencies on the defensive end if a player makes up for it on offense, but Reaves hasn’t been quite that good. It makes you wonder if, at some point, the Lakers change their stance of not being interested in trading Reaves. I’m obviously not suggesting they let him go for nothing, but those issues on defense might mean he’s not quite the untouchable piece that they have been viewing him as.
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