Expert Article
From Hero to Zero
How the Los Angeles Lakers went from championship favorites to fighting for a spot in the playoffs
Do you like ice cream? What about pizza? How about hamburgers? I’m sure you do. Almost everybody does. But what if you put all of those together and had a pizza and hamburger ice cream sundae. Would you like that? I hope not. Well, that’s kind of what you have right now with the Los Angeles Lakers–a star-studded roster that doesn’t compliment each other in any way and has thus led to a disaster of a season.
However, this was not how it was supposed to go. This Lakers team was supposed to be in title contention, not clawing its way into the playoffs. But there were a lot of things that led up to this shameful fate. In this article, I will discuss what the expectations for the Lakers were at the beginning of the season, where they went wrong, how their season is going, and give a little insight on how I believe the rest of the season will play out for them.
Preseason Expectations
Coming into the 2021-2022 NBA season, the Lakers knew they needed to make some changes. After winning it all in the 2019-2020 season, they got bounced out of the playoffs in just the 1st round the season after. Not only that, but their star player LeBron James wasn’t getting any younger as he was heading into his 19th season at 37 years old. That’s when the Lakers decided to shock the NBA world and make the blockbuster trade that brought 9-time All-Star Russell Westbrook to his hometown team. Although there were some glaring flaws in his game, the Lakers knew they needed more star power to compete with the likes of the Brooklyn Nets who had Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving.
Now, the Lakers had their own three-headed snake with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook–three future first-ballot Hall of Famers. Not only did they have those three, but also they added two more former all-stars in Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. The league was buzzing around all these moves that the Lakers were making. But there were some people who believed that this collection of talent couldn’t work together and that the old age of the roster was a big concern. Despite these remarks, the Lakers started the season at +350 odds to win the NBA Finals–just 2nd behind the Brooklyn Nets (Mullin). That means if you were to bet $100 on the Lakers, you would receive $350 if they won it all. The Lakers knew that although they had all the talent on paper, they still had a lot more to overcome if they wanted to live up to their championship expectations. But even then, they weren’t prepared for what was to come.
Inherent Problems
Before I talk about the Lakers season, I must first mention these three inherent problems that are the reason why the Lakers look to be doomed right now:
They are old. This offseason, the Lakers completely changed the outlook of their team by adding 12 new players while only keeping 3. And while they brought in some big-name players, they were all old and past their primes. Not only did they have the players I’ve discussed, but they also added Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington, and DeAndre Jordan who were all 33 years of age or older. When the Lakers were done with all of their offseason acquisitions, they had the oldest roster in NBA history with an average age of 32 years old (Kram). This was a recipe for disaster as old players are slow and are more prone to injury. On the defensive end, the most important thing is quickness. And because of their aging team, the Lakers went from being 2nd best in points allowed last year to being 26th this year (Team Rankings). Not only that, but this aging roster has also racked up an abundant amount of injuries. The number of games Lakers players have missed due to injury is at 186 games–top 5 in the whole league (Spotrac).
Their playstyles aren’t compatible. When the Lakers brought in Westbrook and the rest of the guys that they signed, they believed they could just throw them onto the court and everything would work itself out because of how talented they were. However, they were completely wrong. Westbrook, LeBron, and Davis are all “alpha dogs” meaning that they want to be the number one option on the team and want the ball in their hands. Unfortunately for them, there’s only one basketball allowed on the court. This has caused a “take-turns” offense in which each player takes turns bringing up the ball and taking their man one-on-one to just end up shooting the ball. Basketball is a team sport, and you’re not going to go anywhere if you don’t utilize the whole team.
They have Russell Westbrook. If you have ever used or seen a forklift, you know it’s good for one thing and one thing only–and that’s lifting heavy loads of stuff and moving them from one place to another. It’s probably the best at that job, but that’s all it can really do. Although it can drive you from place to place, you never see anyone pulling up to a nightclub in a forklift–that would be absurd. And in a sense, a forklift would be the perfect way to describe Russell Westbrook. Westbrook can do many things, but he is really only good at one–he gives 110% effort game in and game out, which not many players can say. However, he can’t really do anything else. He is a subpar shooter, can’t play defense, and is a turnover machine. But that doesn’t stop him from doing those things. Although he is in the bottom 5 in 3-point percentage, he still takes almost 4 per game. And right now, he leads the NBA in turnovers (Statmuse). This just adds to the Lakers’ problems and makes him so hard for the team to overcome.
The Season So Far
The Lakers started the season losing their first two games, and that was just a sign of the things that were to come. Whenever it looked like they were catching their stride, they would lose a crucial game or one of their star players would go down with an injury. After losing their first two games of the season, the Lakers would go on to win 5 of their next 6 games. However, in the last game during that span, LeBron would sustain an abdominal injury that would keep him sidelined for the next eight games. And in those eight games, the Lakers would go 3-5 (Charania and Oram).
Around a month later, the Lakers were looking solid again and went on a 3-game winning streak. However, once again, one of their star players would get injured again as Anthony Davis sprained his MCL and would be out for over a month. This pattern continued and continued and if the season were to end today, the Lakers would be the 9th seed in the Western Conference with a 26-30 record. And after being championship favorites at one point, the Lakers currently have a 0.3% chance to win it all and only a 23% chance of making it to the playoffs (Rude).
Looking Ahead
Luckily for the Lakers, the season isn’t ending today, and there are still 26 games to go. Everyone knows that in the NBA, the most crucial part is to play your best towards the end of the season. And with 26 games left, there’s enough time to do so. As of now, LeBron, Davis, and Westbrook have played only 18 games with each other (Statmuse). And now, after months of being held back by injuries, they’re all healthy and back on the court for action. If they can somehow stay healthy for the rest of the season, they have a shot at putting a winning streak together and living up to their expectations. But as of now, this season is looking like a pizza and hamburger ice cream sundae.
Works Cited
Charania, Shams and Oram, Bill. “Lakers' LeBron James returns from abdominal injury in loss to Celtics” The Athletic. theathletic.com (2021, November 19).
“Cumulative Season Injured List By Player.” Spotrac. spotrac.com (2022, February 11).
“Most Turnovers by a Player NBA 2021-2022.” Statmuse. statmuse.com (2022, February 11).
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