LOS ANGELES — The Lakers are out of the NBA Cup, guaranteeing a new champion this season. Los Angeles won the inaugural event two years ago, while Milwaukee claimed last year’s title. The Lakers fell 119-132 to San Antonio in a game the Spurs controlled from the start. The defeat revived familiar concerns that continue to hold this team back. Depth, defense, shooting, and athleticism remain glaring weaknesses, and the Lakers must address them if they want to stabilize. One unavoidable conclusion has emerged: the Lakers bench Rui Hachimura to accommodate Marcus Smart in the starting lineup.
Lakers’ Season Demands Immediate Fix As Issues Mount
A Strong Record Masks Real Problems
The Lakers have slipped to fourth in the West after sitting in second for several weeks. Their 17-7 record looks impressive, but the underlying numbers tell a different story. Los Angeles has a point differential of just +37 and a net rating of +1.3. Those metrics place them in the “good but not elite” category. They beat average teams with consistency but struggle against top-tier opponents.
Where elite teams create separation is on the defensive end. The Lakers own a bottom-10 defense. More troubling, they hold a bottom-three defense over the last five games. The slide is real. The gap is widening. And the solution points back to the need to reconfigure the rotation, beginning with the Lakers sending Rui Hachimura to the bench.
Defensive Holes Are Becoming Predictable
The Lakers cannot contain drive-and-kick guards or wings. Opponents know this and attack it relentlessly. Stephon Castle scored 30 points last night. Dillon Brooks burned them for 33 in Phoenix. Jaylen Brown added 30 in Boston about a week ago. These performances follow the same pattern: perimeter pressure collapses, rotations break, and the Lakers surrender easy looks.
The humiliation compounds because every Lakers loss has been a blowout. That trend reveals a team that cannot slow opposing momentum once the defensive cracks appear. The starting five offers the clearest evidence. The group posts a -13.1 net rating in 76 minutes, making it the second-most-used lineup despite its clear inefficiency. This is why the Lakers have to bench Rui Hachimura. The other four starters are entrenched in the lineup for different reasons. Hachimura is the odd man out.
A Rotation Shift Is Necessary
Head coach JJ Redick must act. Smart should start. Jake LaRavia and Adou Thiero should receive expanded roles. These players add athleticism, defensive urgency, and speed—traits the current starting unit lacks. Moving Hachimura to the bench is not a punishment; it is a structural adjustment to support the team’s broader needs. Hachimura’s scoring will be more valuable off a Lakers bench that ranks dead last in points in the NBA.
The Lakers possess championship aspirations, but aspirations without corrections become illusions. With the West tightening and defensive concerns growing, Los Angeles must make this no-brainer choice.
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