The Los Angeles Lakers have not performed to their full potential this season, and many have lost home in their chances of being the Western Conference champions. Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors’ resurgence is outstanding, and the Phoenix Suns have continued where they left off in their 2020-21 campaign, making them the most likely teams to advance from the West.
While many have lost hope in the Lakers, former NBA champ Metta Sandiford-Artest sat down with Chris Geeter McGee on Spectrum SportsNet to discuss the state of the Lakers and how they have performed so far.
.@MettaWorld37 sits down with @geeter3 to discuss the #Lakers defense, @russwest44's growth and @KingJames' triple-double performance against the Magic. pic.twitter.com/kjCFKcW9BH
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 14, 2021
“We know that if LeBron was here, our record would be maybe 7 losses. And he would have probably had more 30-point games. It’s just amazing that he’s taking so much importance on his career and want to finish off strong. Melo wants to finish off strong.
“And it’s just so impressive to see. And that’s why I think that these guys are going to be champions because it’s something special about this season. It’s failure, you failure to be successful because of adversity. And that’s why there’s something special happening here.”
It is an incredibly bold statement coming from the former Laker, but with the quality of players this Lakers team have, nothing is impossible. If the Lakers get healthy and are better defensively, there is plenty that could go right for them.
LeBron James’ absence has been a major factor in the Lakers’ run this season, as they have won 5 in the 12 games he missed. With LeBron on the floor, they have a 10-6 run.
The makeup of the team would undoubtedly make them championship contenders, but they are yet to perform to their full potential. If they can manage to put together a winning streak, there is hope that they can build momentum from there.
