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Anointed as an NBA championship favourite at the beginning of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers have instead struggled mightily.
As we approach the halfway mark of the season, the storied franchise finds itself currently sitting in 11th spot in the Western Conference with a 16-21 record.
It’s not just possible that the team will fail to make the playoffs, it’s increasingly becoming probable.
Considering how highly rated the Lakers were coming into the season, it’s potentially the biggest flop in NBA history, though it’s impossible to definitively make that statement until the season ends.
What I can say with certainty is that I can’t recall any team failing to live up to expectations quite as spectacularly as the Lakers have so far this season.
Count me as one of the pundits who predicted big things from the NBA’s glamour club this year. In my NBA season previews on The Roar, I had the Lakers pencilled in for the NBA championship.
When you consider that I’m also a Lakers fan and bleed purple and gold, you can double the embarrassment I feel in acknowledging that not only will they not win the title, but they may not even qualify as one of the top eight teams in their own conference.
How did it come to this? How did a team predicted by many to run through the entire NBA with consummate ease turn out to be so terribly average?
Ironically enough, in the very same preview in which I nominated them as the NBA champions, I also revealed some weaknesses which have become somewhat prophetic.
Here’s a quick recap of that particular section of the piece:
“So, if it’s all so perfect, what could go wrong?
Plenty.
Sport is littered with countless examples of great teams, on paper, that didn’t win. In fact, the Lakers themselves provide a recent case study. In 2003, the Lakers trotted out one of the best line-ups in NBA history when Karl Malone and Gary Payton joined Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal.
However, not only did their skill sets not quite mesh, but egos proved a considerable issue. Though the team made the finals, they were humbled by the Detroit Pistons, and lasted just one season together.
The Lakers will need to ensure history doesn’t repeat, and that all personalities are kept in check.
The other concern is that, despite the talent, this is not a young team. Nash is 38. Kobe is 34. World Peace and Gasol are 32. Jamison is 36. The older you get, the more susceptible you are to injury, and while all those players look after their bodies, Father Time has never been beaten by anyone.
A major injury to any of their stars will bring the team back to the pack.
Additionally, younger teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat have the potential to cause the Lakers many headaches with their speed and athleticism.
The Lakers bench is also a little skinny.
So while this team is strong on paper, it’s far from perfect.”
Unfortunately for the Lakers, just about all those things have come to fruition.
The chemistry has been poor, and not just because of the number of new players in the squad. The team has really struggled to gel, and has often looked disjointed and lacking any sense of cohesion.
Their age was a slight concern heading into the season, but it’s been a major issue, particularly on defense. Most notably in Kobe Bryant and Metta World Peace, who have visibly lost a step and struggle to consistently contain athletic wing players.
Injuries have also been a major issue, with Steve Nash, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard all missing games, or playing at far less than 100%. Throw in Jordan Hill’s season-ending injury, and a team with no depth whatsoever has had it tested immensely. And failed.
The issues haven’t just been confined to the roster either. Coach Mike Brown was fired after just five games, and was replaced with Mike D’Antoni.
D’Antoni is considered an offensive guru, but his teams have never been known for their defence. And considering much of the Lakers woes have been on the defensive end, it probably calls into question whether D’Antoni was the right choice.
Though to be fair, I think the other candidate for the job, Phil Jackson, dodged a bullet by not being asked to take on the Lakers gig for a third time. I’m not sure even the most successful coach in NBA history could do much about the Lakers age and defensive issues.
Yet D’Antoni hasn’t done himself any favours either. Charming and media savvy, it’s hard not to like the affable coach. But his stubbornness in not implementing offensive schemes that utilise the talent at his disposal – particularly Gasol – remains extremely frustrating, and highlights a potentially large ego.
When Dwight Howard first signed with the Lakers, I envisaged a potent high/low post tandem with Pau Gasol. Seeming as the Spaniard is one of the best passing big men in the league, and owns one of the most dangerous and versatile arsenal of low post moves in the world, I thought a partnership with Howard would be near on unstoppable.
Instead, D’Antoni runs very few low post plays for Gasol, while also having him camped out on the perimeter, or hiding him on the weakside baseline. Quite simply, the coach’s ‘4 out’ offense doesn’t make any use of Gasol’s considerable skills, which should see him abusing defenders down low, or using his passing skills in the high post.
Gasol is being completely misused and is almost redundant to the team, with his statistics down across the board. Throw in some injuries that he has suffered, and it’s easily the big man’s worst season ever.
But that’s merely one issue in a litany of many.
Lack of chemistry. Coaching changes. An old roster. Injuries to stars. A severe lack of depth. Porous defence. Not coaching to your strengths. An over-reliance on Kobe’s scoring. A 16-21 record.
It doesn’t sound like a recipe for success, does it? And so far, it certainly hasn’t been.