I remember this huge excitement at the start of the season about the Lakers. We were talking about this star-studded team of Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, and Pau Gasol.
Obviously, things have turned out… a little different. The Lakers are 15-19 (with the latest setback happening in a loss against Houston) and continue to look for answers. We’ve been all waiting for this turnaround and it hasn’t happened yet.
Steve Nash is not sure if it will happen. Here’s the story by Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times:
“I think three or four weeks ago, people would have said, ‘Oh, it will get better,’ ” Nash said. “Right now, I definitely don’t think there’s a guarantee it will, so the only remedy is to continue to work hard and give yourself a chance for it to get better.”
Kobe Bryant seems to have the same sentiment:
“We were walking out of the shoot-around [Tuesday] and we just kind of looked at each other,” guard Kobe Bryant said. “I said to him, ‘We thought it was going to be easier this year for us.’ “
It’s okay, Kobe. We all thought it was going to be a little easier for the Lakers, too.
Unfortunately, the season has been marred by injuries, coaching changes, philosophical clashes, rotation messes, and inept play on the defensive end. And if Nash and Kobe are talking like this, how is the overall team’s psyche?
With that loss to Houston on Tuesday night and the Western Conference being tough overall, I’m not sure if the team will turn it around, either. For a West team to have a chance to make the postseason, the team would have to win 45 games. The Lakers are 15-19 and that means they would have to go 30-18 to get that 45-win season. I know. It has come to this, hasn’t it?
And the problem is that we haven’t seen much improvement at all on both ends. We’ll see flashes once in a while. But they don’t seem to have faith on their game plan and stop whatever they were doing to get a lead. Also, if we’re talking about how well they were able to hang in with the Rockets with Darius Morris and Robert Sacre in the starting line-up, you know the Lakers are in deep water.
I know it hurts for Lakers fans when critics talk about the Lakers not making the postseason. But that is the reality. With games coming up against San Antonio and Oklahoma City this week plus the dreaded Grammy road trip on the horizon, things are not going to get any easier. I hadn’t even mentioned that the Lakers are undermanned, too, with Dwight, Pau, and Jordan Hill all out with injuries.
All I can say is to keep the faith and hope they turn it around quickly. Like now.
