31-39, 11th in the West, and entirely out of the playoff picture, the Lakers are far from where they wanted to be entering the season. All year long, the team was never able to play consistent basketball, peaking in December before falling apart completely following the injury to LeBron James on Christmas. They were never able to rebound from that, which begs the question: who is to blame?
While no one person is responsible for it all, some members of the team deserve more of the blame than others.
Lonzo Ball
The Lakers miss Lonzo Ball, and it shows. Since his injury earlier in the season, the team has never been able to match his impact on either end of the floor. He is an important part of the team.
But when LeBron came on board, it was Lonzo’s job to improve as a shooter, a job which he failed to do. As a result, the Lakers have been a mediocre shooting team.
The Role Players
The Anthony Davis trade rumors tore apart the team apart. Essentially, the Lakers put their entire roster outside of LeBron on the trade block, and it decimated their motivations to play the season out.
Even though it was a mistake to let their offers leak, the role players involved have to understand that the NBA is a business. There is no avoiding trade rumors, no matter the franchise, especially if they involve a guy like Anthony Davis. Ingram, Kuzma, and the rest of the Lakers’ role players let their feelings get in the way of their performance on the court.
Luke Walton
A coach’s job is to bring the best out of the roster of players given to him. All season long, Luke put in questionable rotations and failed to galvanize the team even in the midst of several key injuries.
The offensive and defensive sets need work, and it is clear Walton has lost the locker room. No doubt, the team will be looking for a replacement in the near future.
Brandon Ingram
Coming into the year, Brandon Ingram was expected to be LeBron James’ sidekick. The 21-year-old forward has shown a lot of potential in his short career.
Unfortunately, his play on the court did not meet those expectations. He is averaging 18 points per game, but it came from inconsistent play. Ingram failed to be the player LeBron needed him to and it cost the team.
LeBron James
LeBron James is the teams’ best player, and arguably the best in the world. As the leader of this team, he deserves much of the blame for their struggles. Additionally, James’ lack of aggressiveness on defense and his off behavior towards the team both in-game and in the locker room have played significant roles in their struggles.
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson assembled the infamous “meme team,” and is now witnessing the consequences of his poor decisions play out.
Instead of keeping Brook Lopez and Julius Randle, he went after Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson. Once the season started, and the trade-deadline approached, he allowed for the Lakers’ dealings with the Pelicans go public and made some comments about it following the ordeal that only made things worse.
He built a flawed team from the very start and then broke them even further throughout the season.
Get Free $6, Play And Win $1M!
