For most of their existence the Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the cornerstones of success in the NBA. The Lakers 16 NBA Championships are second only to the 17 of the Boston Celtics while their 31 appearances in the NBA Finals are more than any other NBA franchise. But a new label has been bestowed on the once proud Lakers franchise which is that of bottom feeders. For the first time since the mid-1970’s, two consecutive seasons have gone by with the Lakers not qualifying for the NBA Playoffs and if they were to miss the postseason in their current campaign it would mark the first time in franchise history that they would have not made the playoffs in three straight years.
Byron Scott
The Lakers have begun this season with a record of 3-10 and by the looks of things victories will be few and far between for the purple and gold. There was bit of optimism for the Lakers as the season began, but it faded quicker than that of a struggling young actors dream of stardom in Hollywood. Former Lakers guard Byron Scott was hired as the team’s new head coach and he looked to breathe some new life into the team. At Scott’s introductory press conference over the summer, some of his former Laker teammates in Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, and of course current team general manager Mitch Kupchak were in attendance to show support for Scott. But those guys aren’t suiting up anytime soon for the Lakers. The Lakers used the 7th overall pick of last summer’s NBA Draft on power forward Julius Randle who on opening night fractured his leg which ended his season. The Lakers would lose that night at home to the Houston Rockets 108-90 and it hasn’t gotten any better since.
From his first day on the job with the Lakers, Scott has preached team defense. But in nine of their eleven losses this season the Lakers have surrendered at least 100 points including losing two games to the Golden State Warriors by a combined 44 points. The Lakers were demolished on the road last night at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks 140-106. The Lakers surrendered 38 points in the first quarter to the Mavericks and 40 in the third which is a recipe for disaster. The Lakers are giving up 112.5 points per game which is currently dead last in the NBA and it is not a formula for winning basketball.
The Lakers have always had a rich surplus of talent come through their organization. Aside from Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilkes, the Lakers have also had other Basketball Hall of Famers such as Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and James Worthy play for them. But aside from shooting guard Kobe Bryant on this current Lakers roster, it is a team that doesn’t have All-Star caliber talent on it, but they are still serviceable players.
In 2012, the Lakers signed point guard Steve Nash. Prior to joining the Lakers, Nash was two-time NBA MVP as a member of the Phoenix Suns. But since joining the Lakers, Nash has only appeared in 65 games while only averaging 11.4 points per game and 6.4 assists. The 40-year old Nash suffered a back injury prior to the start of the season which will all but end his NBA playing career. Knowing that Nash’s best days in the NBA were in the rear-view mirror, this past off-season Kupchak and the Lakers acquired point guard Jeremy Lin from the Rockets. Lin rose to stardom during the 2011-2012 NBA season with the New York Knicks. Lin came out out of nowhere to spark a Knicks revival, but it was shortlived as he was traded to the Rockets that summer. Lin is a servicable point guard that excelled during his time with the Knicks for the simple fact that he played in a system under head coach Mike D’Antoni that concentrated solely on the point guard and he may never see that success again in the NBA. Power forward Carlos Boozer is in his first season with the Lakers and his 13th overall in the NBA. Boozer’s two best seasons in the NBA came in 2007 and 2008 when he played for the Utah Jazz as he averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds per game. In the early stages of this season Boozer is on pace to have his worst statistical season since his rookie year as he is averaging 13.3 points and 6.5 rebounds. The Lakers did get some relief this week when small forward Nick Young returned to the team after missing the first 10 games of the season with a thumb injury. But for players like Young and Boozer, it isn’t helping their or the Lakers cases to be successful this season being that Scott is allowing Bryant to do too much.
Kobe Bryant
Bryant is averaging 26.7 points per game this season while the next closest Lakers player in scoring is center Jordan Hill at 14.2 points per game. Bryant is also taking 24.0 shots per game while Boozer is the closest Laker in that category at 11.8 shots per contest. At 36-years of age, Bryant is out to show the world that he can still get it done. Bryant only appeared in six games last season as he was hampered by knee and Achilles injuries. Bryant is still a dangerous scorer, but like he did when Phil Jackson was the head coach of the Lakers, Bryant must learn to trust his teamamtes which he currently is not doing. After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, there was a major overhaul to the Lakers team and Bryant tried to do too much on his own then. For the 2005-2006 NBA season, Bryant led the league in scoring at 35.4 per game and once again in the following season at 31.6. Bryant is currently leading the NBA is scoring and if he finishes this season in the top five in the category it should symbolize a losing season for the Lakers.
When his career is finished Bryant will be looked at as one of the greatest players to ever do it, but he always hasn’t come across as the best teammate and he needs to be that kind of guy more than ever right now. Winning basketball does not entail Bryant taking an absurd amount of shots. On November 4, the Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns 112-106. For the game Bryant finished with 39 points, but he took 37 shots. After the game Scott claimed that the other players on the Lakers need to step it up, but it will be hard for them to do that if they are not touching the basketball. The San Antonio Spurs are the defending NBA Champions and what has made them so successful is that they are the utmost definition of “team basketball”. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich preaches team basketball as no individual is bigger than the team with him. Scott and the Lakers front office have put Bryant on a pedestal and it could alienate him from the rest of his teammates. This season Bryant is accounting for $23.5 million of the Lakers team payroll and $25 million towards next season. If and when Bryant decides to hang it up, the Lakers will be in full rebuilding mode. The Lakers front office may want to deny it all that they want to, but superstar players will avoid putting on the purple and gold as long Bryant is there. The Lakers will more than likely be headed for another trip to the NBA’s Draft Lottery due to the fact that their old system of selling their team tradition to superstar free agents is mute right now. The Lakers two best salesman were their former general manager Jerry West and their former owner Dr. Jerry Buss. West left the Lakers organization in 2002 while Buss passed away last year and both men were huge in the consistent success that the Lakers were able to enjoy.
Right now Kupchak is going to have to build the Lakers through the NBA Draft and the folks in Los Angeles are going to have to accept the fact that their beloved Lakers won’t be that good. The Western Conference is tough and what makes it so competitive is that most of the teams there have at least one solid big man to work around to go along with overall team depth. Bryant and Scott are going to need to trust in players such as Young, Boozer, Lin, and Hill more than ever, but it still may not be enough for them to be a playoff team.
Mitch Kupchak
The Lakers don’t have a break in the schedule as three of their next six games are against current division leaders in the Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, and Washington Wizards. If the Lakers fall 15 games under .500 this season it will be interesting to see how long that it will take for Bryant to begin criticizing everyone on the Lakers including his head coach and the front office. Everything that goes up must come down and the Lakers aurra of invincibility has burst right in front of our eyes.
Source: Basketball-reference.com, Sportrac.com
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