While January is dreamily coming to a close, Los Angeles is balmy, the freeways are jammed and the Lakers are once again at a crossroads.

The team, who are currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, continue to struggle on the court as they deal with a surplus of injuries and nervously await Lebron James’ return. Not to mention, are also not so subtly in the midst of potentially trading for one of this generation’s most dynamic players. Needless to say, anxiousness has begun to creep out of the Staples Center and spill out onto the polluted pavement.

There is no sugarcoating that this season has not gone the way many fans, and team personnel would have liked. Yet, even taking into account the unfortunate timing and deluge of injuries, the team’s fate may have been sealed before the season even started.

It is inarguable that the Lakers have been one of the most successful sports’ franchises in history, but in recent years, they have floundered in not only using their plentiful and advantageous resources in obtaining an competitive edge, but simply continue to struggle in fully embracing the trends of modern basketball.

Blame may be too strong of a word. But there are various individuals involved who have had their hand in what has been so far a frustrating season.

Roster Construction

Any time a newly appointed front office can ink a player of James’ caliber in an offseason, that deserves a significant level of praise. But, after 51 games worth of a sample, it is safe to say Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka took a puzzling approach in fleshing out the rest of the roster.

Instead of surrounding James with the proven formula of bountiful spacing on the perimeter, they chose instead to fill out the wings with playmakers. Which in an era defined by the desirability of 3-point shooting, further supports the idea that the front office decided to zag when everyone else in the league had zigged. Their ambitious gamble has not paid off.

The Lakers’ current offensive rating of 108.3 (21st in the league) would account for the lowest mark for a James’ led team since the 2011-12 season. While injuries have played a part in this, specifically James’ absence, the team’s recent 6-11 stretch has magnified a lot of the flaws in their infrastructure.

Los Angeles’ achilles heel this season has been their inability to shoot from anywhere outside of four feet. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Lakers are 19th in midrange shooting, 21st in corner three percentage, 28th in above the break efficiency and are the fourth worst overall 3-point shooting team in the league.

To throw further salt in the pulsating wound, they are also 29th in “wide-open” 3-point percentage (34.6%) dead last in their catch and shoot conversion rate (32.7%) and are the worst free-throw shooting team in the NBA (68.7%).

Johnson and Pelinka’s preference for playmaking and self-creation in theory was an interesting experiment, but in concert with a complete dismissiveness of arguably the most valued areas of the floor: free-throws and 3-point shooting, now seems simply out of touch.

Utilization

Luke Walton has received a majority of the blame this season for the Lakers’ struggles. Whether one feels it’s warranted or not, there is no shying away from the fact that his seat is among the hottest of the league.

Walton has had to deal with yet another season of questionable roster construction/turnover, incorporating James and has had to come up with makeshift rotations due to the aforementioned injuries.

While those are definitely difficult variables for a coach to work with, he is not completely absolved of fault either. His staggering of minutes continues to puzzle fans, and arguably has cost the team a few wins. Players like Brandon Ingram continue to be deployed in inefficient roles. And there is also the question if his offensive scheme is up to par, which based on the team’s offensive numbers in the past few seasons, is difficult to fully argue in his favor.

The idea that Walton would bring the Warriors’ style with him to the Lakers once he was initially hired has not transpired. But while the Lakers play and look nothing like Golden State, Walton has hinted at the style in which he ultimately wants the Lakers to operate in.

Early in his regime, Walton harped on his wish for the team to average “300 passes a game,” but since taking over head coaching duties, Los Angeles has failed to hit 290.

For reference, half of the league is averaging at least 300 passes per contest this season. And despite being built specifically on the intention of playmaking, and creating for others, the Lakers are somehow 28th in the league in this area this year.

It could be argued that having James and playing so frequently in transition likely plays a role in the low number of passes, but when looking at a team like Sacramento, who is a mere fraction of a percentage point behind the Lakers in terms of highest transition rate, it is telling the Kings are averaging 18 more passes per contest.

Another area where Los Angeles’ offense has deviated from current trends is in their aforementioned poor 3-point shooting, and the fact that they are still not taking a lot.

The Lakers are 19th in the league in in terms of frequency of possessions that end with a 3-point attempt. While they have risen their frequency rate from last season (30.9% vs 30.3%) they still fall into the bottom portion of the league.

An argument could be had that this is a strategic ploy by Walton’s staff to focus more on their strengths (attacking the rim) but even taking into account the fact that the Lakers have the seventh-best efficiency around the rim, the team routinely loses the scoreboard math.

Simply put, even the most elite 2-point shooting team might be better off being around an average 3-point shooting one.

Areas of Optimism

Although their 3-point shooting and ball movement continue to hurt the team’s optimization, the Lakers have taken steps in the right direction in terms of valuing other areas that are often considered analytically valuable.

The Lakers have the highest percentage of their possessions that begin in transition, and that come within four feet of the basket in the league. Both of which have helped generate solid looks and masked what has been otherwise suboptimal offense.

Their defense also continues to be stellar, now seventh in defensive rating, the team has steadily been good for consecutive seasons on that end. Which considering the aforementioned roster turnover and young players, is definitely a feather in Walton’s cap.

Given their market and revenue intake, the Lakers should have fertile opportunity to be ahead of the curve of modern trends and unearth competitive advantages. Or at the very least, not fall behind.

Yet, as seen in their hiring process (past experience as a Laker/Arizona Wildcat definitely increases your odds of landing a job) unspecified analytics’ department and lack of specialized coaching staff, the infrastructure in place is still looking to the past, rather than taking a leap forward.

This obviously could change, and having one of the best basketball players ever under contract helps. But if the team is serious about revamping and rejuvenating what has been a stale few years, a willing adaptation to the modern age will ultimately be the key.

*All stats via NBA.com unless otherwise noted. Featured graphic provided by Aidan Lising.