4 things the Lakers need to sort out to make a playoff run

With a 113-117 loss to the tanking Hawks at the Philips Center, the Lakers have now fallen 3 games behind the Kings in search of the 8th seed in the Western Conference playoff race. With only about 25 games remaining in the season, Lakers nation has its back to the wall, and one can only dream of the final stretch in the 2012-13 season when 34-year-old Kobe Bryant single-handedly willed the Purple and Gold brigade to the playoffs after possessing the exact same record as they do this season.

Can 34-year-old LeBron, fresh off the longest injury absence of his career, do enough to will the Lakers into a first-round beatdown at the hands of the Warriors? Will they get lucky and draw the 7th seed and the Nuggets or the Thunder instead?

To answer this question, we need to explore what the Lakers have done wrong so far, and how they can right those wrongs:

#1 Lineup struggles

While the Lakers have probably been the worst injury-hit team in the Pacific division, Luke Walton's lineup schemes haven't exactly inspired confidence among the Purple and Gold brigade. A cursory look at their 5-man lineup data, for now, has some fairly obvious results.

Walton's most trusted five-man unit of McGee, James, Ingram, Kuzma

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Lonzo is barely breaking even

Walton's most trusted five-man unit of McGee, James, Ingram, Kuzma and Lonzo is barely breaking even, posting an average offense and an average defense. Given the torrid shooting this lineup boasts (Bron is easily the best shooter of these 5), Walton will probably have to replace one of Ingram or Lonzo with recent acquisition Reggie Bullock before long.

Mike Muscala is another shooter who needs to be integrated into the Lakers setup quickly. The Lakers usually finish games out with Tyson Chandler on the floor in McGee's place for his rim protection, but to add true shooting to their lineup, they might consider going small to close games out with Muscala in.

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#2 Shooting struggles

Los Angeles Lakers v Golden State Warriors

It isn't a secret that the Lakers have 2 of the greatest passers in the history of the game in LeBron James and Rajon Rondo. They also have a really amazing playmaker in Lonzo on the roster, although the youngster will be out for a couple of weeks more with an ankle sprain. In addition, they also have Brandon Ingram (who's been played as a point forward in the absence of point guards in the roster in the past) and Lance Stephenson.

However, the roster-wide lack of spacing has really affected the effectiveness of the Lakers' plethora of ball-handling playmakers. Most drive-and-dish playtypes for the Lakers result in the opposition team locking the paint down and forcing the ball out of the ball handler's hands, while the likes of Ingram, Lonzo and Kuzma take a low-percentage open 3-point shot.

The Lakers need more screening actions to get their shooters open. They rank middle of the pack in screen assists per game, but given their lack of shooting, they really have to make the task of their existing shooters easier. This means more off-ball activity for the bigs on their roster, and greater intensity on the part of their 3-and-D specialists.

#3 Big man rotation

Tyson Chandler has shored up the Lakers' bench defensively

The Lakers' big man rotation this season, while short on offensive impact, is defensively their fulcrum. JaVale McGee's pick-and-roll defense this season has been a far cry from the forever-out-of-position state it was in during his Wizards and Nuggets days, even if he makes the occasional catastrophic read.

Tyson Chandler has shored up the Lakers' bench defensively, and is the ideal center to close tight games out. Mo Wagner has shown off some range and could be a pick-and-pop threat, but right now, he should be behind Mike Muscala in the pecking order for the Lakers' big men.

Muscala had a less-than-stellar season with the Sixers, but the expectation is that he still opens the floor up enough for the likes of Ingram and Lonzo to find driving lanes. The Lakers are an excellent team at finding layups for their open men, and integrating Muscala into their rotations at the earliest will be a top priority.

#4 Perimeter defense

Golden State Warriors v Los Angeles Lakers

While the likes of Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram have proved themselves to be above-average to elite defenders, they're all players with overlapping defensive skillsets. Barring Lonzo, none of the other 3 have the instincts, foot speed or size to trouble the best guards and small forwards in the game, though definitely not for the lack of trying on their part.

Kyle Kuzma has to be one of the worst defenders in the league today, showing virtually no progression from his rookie season on that end of the floor. Combined with LeBron's lethargy on the defensive end, this makes for a recipe for a disaster for the Lakers given that their two best scorers are net negatives as defenders.

It's about time for LeBron to pick up Kuzma's slack on the end and reassert his two-way dominance, as everyone who watches basketball knows he can. It might be too late for him to pace himself on defense given their pathetic loss to the Hawks yesterday.