23-year old center Robert Sacre and 23-year old shooting guard Darius Johnson-Odom have only gotten to play at the end of games in blowouts so far this year.  I don’t see that changing any time soon.  Sacre has played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 4.3 minutes, 0.5 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  Johnson-Odom has played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 1.5 minutes, 0.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.3 assists per game so far this year.

61-year old head coach Mike D’Antoni took over the Lakers when they were 5-5 on the season.  They are now 14-15 (48.3%) on the season, which has them in third place in the Pacific Division, 9 games behind the Clippers.  The Lakers are 9-10 (47.4%) under D’Antoni and that’s just not going to get the job done.  But, Steve Nash is finally back and D’Antoni always seemed to get a lot of production out of him, so maybe things are going to change for the better soon for the Lakers.

The Lakers dealt for 38-year old Steve Nash over the summer with the idea of him running the show offensively.  That didn’t last long as he was injured in the second game of the season and he has yet to return to action.  Nash has played in 2 games (both starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 25.0 minutes, 4.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.  He is almost ready to return to action for the Lakers, and they need him badly.  32-year old Steve Blake also was injured early this year and he has yet to return to action.  Blake has played in 7 games (5 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 26.0 minutes, 5.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  21-year old Darius Morris got his shot to show what he could do early this year and the results have been awful so far.  Morris has played in 23 games (10 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 19.7 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.  He is only shooting 37.6% from the floor, 45% from three point range and 60% from the free throw line so far this year.  30-year old Chris Duhon is the man of the hour at point guard for the Lakers now.  He has played in 22 games (9 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 24.1 minutes, 4.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.  His shooting has been a little strange so far this year as he is hitting 44.4% from the floor, 41.7% from three point range, but only 44.4% from the free throw line so far this year.  The Lakers desperately need Steve Nash to return to health.

The Lakers are going to make some changes in the starting lineup. The Lakers are going to start 25-year old Jodie Meeks at shooting guard and they are moving 34-year old SG Kobe Bryant to small forward. Meeks has played in 24 games (0 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 18.1 minutes, 8.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Kobe Bryant will probably be able to adjust to his new role. He has played in 26 games (all starts) so far this year for the Lakers and he is averaging 38.4 minutes, 29.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game. 33-year old Metta World Peace will come off the bench, where he will be playing both small and power forward. World Peace has played in 26 games (25 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 35.1 minutes, 13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game. It will be interesting to see how this trio responds to Mike D’Antoni’s shuffling of the lineup.

Shooting guard Kobe Bryant and power forward Pau Gasol are moving up in the record books for the Lakers.  Kobe Bryant is already the Lakers’ all-time leader in games played (1,184), three pointers made (1,556), steals (1,759) and points scored (30,518).  He is also #7 in offensive rebounds (1,381), #13 in defensive rebounds (4,880), #5 in total rebounds (6,261), #3 in assists (5,229) and #8 in blocked shots (598) in Lakers’ history.  Bryant is now #5 in points in NBA history (30,158) and #15 in steals (1,759).  Pau Gasol is #10 in Lakers’ history in both defensive rebounds (2,330) and blocked shots (475).

The Lakers need more production off the bench, but it’s rough right now with Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Pau Gasol hurting as some of those bench guys are starting now.  Power forward Antawn Jamison has started 4 games so far this year as he has replaced Pau Gasol in the starting lineup.  Jamison is averaging 20.5 minutes, 8.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game so far this year.  Jodie Meeks has been a little off with his shot this year as he is only hitting 38.9% from the floor and 41.7% from three point range so far this year, and that’s just not going o get it done.  He is averaging 14.7 minutes, 6.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game so far this year.  PF/C Jordan Hill is doing a solid job this year as he is averaging 15.5 minutes, 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game so far this year.  Point guard Darius Morris started 10 games at point guard for the Lakers this year, but he couldn’t hold the job.  He is averaging 20.3 minutes, 4.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.  He is only shooting 34% from the floor, 40.6% from three point range and 56.5% from the free throw line so far and that is pathetic for a guard.  Point guard Chris Duhon has went into the starting lineup lately (he has started 4 games so far this year) and he is looking pretty good.  He is averaging 22.6 minutes, 4.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.  Duhon is also shooting an amazing 48.6% from three point range so far this year, which is outstanding.  The Lakers hope that Duhon can keep up the good work until Steve Nash is ready to return to the starting lineup.

The Lakers have shut down 32-year old power forward Pau Gasol indefinitely as he has tendonitis in both of his knees.  Gasol has played in 15 games (13 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 34.8 minutes, 12.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 blocked shots.  Head coach Mike D’Antoni is going to give Gasol as much time as he needs to heal his knees.  That means that 36-year old Antawn Jamison is going to step into the starting lineup for a while in Gasol’s old spot.  He has played in 18 games (1 start) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 19.9 minutes, 7.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  I think Jamison will do a solid job while Gasol is out of action.

36-year old power forward Antawn Jamison has really picked up the pace lately.  In his last five games, Jamison is averaging 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  Jamison has now played in 17 games (0 starts) so far this year for the Lakers and he is averaging 18.9 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He is shooting a very impressive 48% from the floor so far this year, but he is only hitting 30.6% from three point range and 68.2% from the free throw line so far this year.  Jamison is going to start tonight’s game for the Lakers as they are giving Pau Gasol the night off due to tendonitis in his knees.

21-year old Darius Morris has been in the starting lineup for a while now, but he has been very unproductive so far.  In his 10 starts, Morris is averaging 24.7 minutes, 5.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Morris has played in 21 games (10 starts) overall this year for the Lakers and he is averaging 22.3 minutes, 5.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.  His shooting has been way off as he is only hitting 37.2% from the floor, 37.9% from three point range and 56.5% from the free throw line so far this year.  The Lakers need Morris to start playing better until Steve Nash returns to action likely in the next couple of weeks.

32-year old point guard Steve Blake is going to miss 6-8 more weeks as he needs surgery to repair a torn abdominal muscle.  Blake has played in 7 games (5 starts) for the Lakers so far this year and he is averaging 26.0 minutes, 5.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  This is a big blow to the Lakers as they were hoping to get Steve Blake and Steve Nash back at around the same time, giving them a huge boost at point guard.