NFL
By: Christopher Jordan
With only 24 games remaining in the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers have a (27-31) record and their 9th in the Western Conference.
The Lakers have one of the toughest remaining schedules and they’re going to be without Anthony Davis for at least four weeks with a foot sprain. Davis is the Lakers second best player and he’s also one of their best defenders.
The pressure is going to be on the shoulders of a 37-year-old man in LeBron James who is playing some of his best basketball offensively of his career. James his averaging is 29.1 points per game, and he’s scored at least 25 points in 23 consecutive games this season.
Despite, LeBron’s individual success this season. The Lakers haven’t had the best team success because of the pieces around James and Davis just don’t fit as they envisioned coming into the regular season.
Some of the issues why the Lakers have struggled this season is because of the lack of three-point shooting around LeBron, the roster doesn’t fit the strengths of the Lakers, age, and injuries.
Coming into the season, one of the questions was the Lakers age, and were they too old to contend for a championship, and could Russell Westbrook make things work with the Los Angeles Lakers.
As we see the Lakers front office and LeBron James made the wrong decisions on a lot of things such as signing players that don’t fit what the Lakers do best and having a player like Russell Westbrook wasn’t the right move.
When you’re playing with someone that has the stature of LeBron James and he’s the face of the franchise you are always in win-now mode because he’s playing for championships.
Russell Westbrook seemed like the right move coming into the season but so far that hasn’t been the case because his play has been one of the reasons why the Lakers haven’t lived up to expectations so far this season.
Westbrook leads the NBA in turnovers and his inability to make shots from the perimeter and poor decision-making is a big reason why the Lakers may not make the playoffs.
Despite, Westbrook’s struggles at times all the blame is not on his shoulders because the Lakers are a TEAM. Some blame lies on Rob Pelinka and LeBron James.
Pelinka gave LeBron too much say-so when constructed this team instead of putting his foot down and making the final decision when it came to who’s playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. On the other hand, LeBron James is an all-world basketball player but he’s not the best when it comes to constructing a team.
The Lakers had an opportunity to get Buddy Hield, DeMar DeRozan, or Kyle Lowry to a degree who all fit better with LeBron and Anthony Davis because of their ability to play off the ball and space the floor with their shooting.
With James being 37 years old and being in year 19. The Lakers should’ve surrounded James with younger pieces instead of getting older players who are old and past their prime.
Acquiring Westbrook, we gave up three really good young players in Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell.
The Lakers could’ve been in a better position with keeping and developing our younger players instead of always listening to LeBron and giving him the final say so all the time.
Sometimes you have to tell your players to trust the front office and let them do their jobs. I agree that LeBron should have a lot of say but the final decision can’t always lie on his shoulders.
Will the Lakers make the playoffs?
Will Westbrook play his best basketball when it matters most?
Will the Lakers supporting cast rally in Anthony Davis absence?
