During the offseason following an injury filled 2020-21 season, the Lakers were trying to find the missing pieces. LeBron James wanted to play with Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, and so forth, so that’s what the Lakers did, giving away Kyle Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope and even 2019-2020 Sixth Man of The Year in Montrez Harrell, and boy does LeBron feel like an idiot now.
The Lakers were among the leaders with the best odds to win the championship during the offseason, but now they’re just 31-41 over ¾ of the way through the season, 9th in the West, seven games behind the Clippers for the 8th seed and struggling to get into a PLAY-IN game. Now did this happen? Multiple Factors:
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook averaged a triple double last season with the Washington Wizards, but this season he is not himself. He only averages only 18 points per game, compared to 22.2 last year, 7.1 assistes, compared to ALMOST TWELVE last season (11.7), and only 7.5 rebounds, compared to 11.5 the year before. He even is shooting the ball worse and having less blocks and steals. Why are his stats lower?! He can’t shoot, simple as that, and it seems he’s shooting perimeter shots, which he sucks at, more often than driving the basket, which he’s skilled at.
Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis is not durable. We all know that. After Davis missed most of last season with a strained calf, during which the Lakers struggled mightily due to AD’s absence, he strained his groin in that season’s playoffs. This season, no different, after spraining his MCL, and missing a few months, he has now suffered a mid foot sprain. This is another move responsible for LeBron James. When James calls it quits, they can’t build the team around anybody due to Davis’s injury history.
LeBron James
I’m not saying that LeBron is not playing well, in fact, the total opposite is true. He’s playing like an MVP candidate…if the team was winning, in fact, LeBron has had TWO 50 point games the past week or so. But here’s the thing: Well actually two things. First, LeBron IS responsible for this roster. He’s the puppeteer pulling the strings, and if the puppet show sucks, it’s the puppeteer's fault. Second, LeBron is in year 19, so LeBron will retire soon, and without him, the Lakers will be even worse.
Other Teams In The West
Another factor in Laker’s struggles is the teams ahead of them. They are the Phoenix Suns, led by Chris Paul and Devin Booker; the Memphis Grizzlies, led by Ja Morant; the Golden State Warriors, led by Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green; the Utah Jazz, led by Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert; the Dallas Mavericks, led by Luka Doncic; the Denver Nuggets, led by Nikola Jokic; the Minnesota Timberwolves, led by Karl Anthony-Towns; and the Los Angeles Clippers, led by currently Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris. That’s a lot of big names the Lakers play very often.
With the season almost over, the Lakers need to figure it out NOW.