In an oft-played commercial for the Dodge Hornet that is currently making its rounds on television, a man meets his inner child, who tells him that what he really needs in life is some “freakin’ torque.” His inner child then floors it while both are in the Hornet and declares that “horsepower keeps you going, but torque gets you going.”
The Los Angeles Lakers, as presently constituted, could use a visit and a locker-room pep talk from that inner child. With LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, they have horsepower. What they need more of is some freakin’ torque. It came and went this season, preventing them from reaching their true potential.
For much of this season, some said the Lakers weren’t winning games with regularity because they didn’t have an identity. The reality is that they had an identity; they just didn’t do a good job of sticking to it.
When the Lakers won and played well this season, it was because they played with pace and got out in transition on a consistent basis. In fact, it is how they have won games since LeBron James arrived six years ago, especially when they won the NBA championship in the 2019-20 season.
If they’re going to win it all again, they need to lean into that identity and strength of theirs — and it will require some roster tweaks. While they have horsepower, they don’t have the consistent spark that allows them to go from 0 to 60 in under five seconds.
Russell — when he’s throwing in darts from the outside and has the ball in his hands — is a very good player. He can not only supply his team with scoring but also with facilitating while committing minimal turnovers. But he has as much speed as a Toyota Camry.
The same goes for Reaves, who is more of a complementary scorer and ball-handler than a speed demon in the open court.
At age 39, James picks his spots when it comes to when to floor it in the open floor and when to conserve his energy and settle for the halfcourt game. He played full-time point guard when L.A. won the world title in 2020, but at this point in his career, he can’t and shouldn’t do that.
He needs a true ball-handling and facilitating guard alongside him who can consistently force the pace. That would allow him to play off the ball more often, a tactic that worked this season — that is when the team actually went to it.
This is one big reason the Lakers were in talks with the Atlanta Hawks to acquire former All-Star guard Dejounte Murray a few months ago. Perhaps they should revisit those talks this offseason.
Murray may not be the most reliable 3-point shooter and some believe his reputation as a dogged defender is just that — a reputation. But he is a speedy guard who can accelerate in transition, and he seems to have a working set of brake pads as well: He doesn’t turn the ball over much.
Running is a Lakers tradition, dating all the way back to their memorable 1972 championship team, and, of course, their dynastic “Showtime” teams of the 1980s. They moved away from that tradition during the Phil Jackson regime in the 2000s, but to be fair, the entire NBA moved away from playing up-tempo basketball in the 1990s and 2000s.
These days, the NBA is all about playing fast. You can’t win a world championship playing purely halfcourt basketball, and even a team like the New York Knicks, who win by slowing play down and pounding opponents defensively and on the boards, can run when needed.
The Knicks, who just won their third playoff series since 2000, were dead-last in pace during the regular season. However, they’re second in fast-break points per game so far in the playoffs.
The Lakers need to take a cue from the rest of the modern NBA and add some freakin’ torque to their attack. It could very well be the biggest thing they lack in their efforts to earn banner No. 18.
