The Los Angeles Lakers have lost four of their last five games and are approaching the point in the season where many of their flaws need to be addressed. Their 128-106 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday raised questions of whether or not the team has developed an identity yet.
The Lakers once again were dominated by an opponent's athleticism, and it prompted head coach JJ Redick to reflect on a conversation he had with Hall of Fame Lakers coach Phil Jackson last season.
"Think about our team last year, this team is different," Redick said. "Our identity will eventually be different. We didn't get that identity until late January, it felt like, and then we had to shift again.
"I don't think it's unnatural. I remember a meeting I had with Phil last year, pretty early in the season. And he said, 'I always felt like I knew who my team was by Thanksgiving.' I think that's hard to figure out with this team right now."
Los Angeles hasn't been afforded the best bill of health this season. As LeBron James pointed out post game when asked a similar question pertaining to the team's identity, the Lakers have only played one or two games with their full roster.
Los Angeles' injury struggles
Not only did James miss the first few weeks of the season, but Austin Reaves is now sidelined for at least a month with a calf strain. Promising rookie Adou Thiero is out for a month with an MCL sprain just as he was starting to find his role on the back end of Redick's rotation.
It's not hard to see why the Lakers have struggled to find an identity through 30 games, even if, as Redick points out, it's a cop-out or excuse. Los Angeles hasn't been healthy enough to even begin laying the foundation of a true identity.