What can the Lakers fix?

After returning from their 2-3 road trip last week, the Lakers spoke honestly about their level of concern at how they were performing on the court, understanding things had to get better, and admitting an "on/off switch" doesn't exist. The process of getting better would be just that- a process.

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The Lakers are looking to get back to their high-fivin' ways more regularly. What can they fix before the playoffs?

As if to drive home the point, the Lakers followed a dominant performance Friday night against a Utah squad playing extremely well by falling back on old habits in a 19-point loss to the Spurs Sunday afternoon.

The laundry list of things hurting the Lakers Sunday - offensive execution, poor outside shooting, a completely non-existent bench just to name a few- has been consistent all year.

The good news is nothing they've done (or haven't done, if you prefer) automatically precludes them from winning another title. The bad news is even the most Pollyannish of Lakers supporters must admit the current level of play won't get it done.

With only five games left in the regular season, some repair work needs to be done (some of which is likely to extend into the playoffs).

So here's the big question: What exactly can be fixed? And what's beyond repair?

The problem: Outside shooting

The Lakers are currently tied for 21st in three-point percentage, at 34.2 percent. Among guys who actually take substantial amounts of them, Jordan Farmar leads the team at 37.2 percent. Ron Artest, who spent most of the season as L.A.'s most consistent threat from downtown, has fallen off a cliff, shooting 26.8 percent during March and starting April just two-for-11. But even down to 35.7 percent for the season, Artest still outpaces Derek Fisher (34.9), Lamar Odom (32.9), Kobe Bryant (32.5), Shannon Brown (32.5), and Sasha Vujacic (32.4).

Can it be fixed?

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Ron Artest spent most of the season as L.A.'s most consistent three-point threat. Then March happened...

Not really. Artest can only go up from recent performances, and I have some hope Fish can improve, having hovered near 40 percent in two seasons since returning to L.A., but only some. After that, Brown and Odom are pretty close to career norms, and with Kobe's finger I don't expect him to find much consistency from distance. (Even healthy, he's only a career 34-percent shooter from behind the arc.) Could Sasha rebound with confidence and playing time? Maybe, but who's to say he'll get either?

One underrated factor is timing. Often, when people make the Artest/Trevor Ariza comparisons, you'll hear them say the Lakers miss Trevor's outside shooting. No, they don't. They miss how he shot in the playoffs. During the regular season, Ariza didn't crack 32-percent from distance. It was only in the postseason when he blew up, hitting 47.6 of his three-point shots. Since T.A. is back down to 32.3 percent this season in Houston, it's looking like last spring's outburst has strong outlier potential.

Could something similar happen this postseason? The Lakers can't count on it... but they ought to hope for it.

Another solution, of course, would be to take fewer threes. I mentioned the low ranking in three-point percentage, but they're 12th in three-pointers-per-field-goal-attempt. Why take so many if you hit so few? That's a ratio that could be fixed.

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