After winning the 2020 NBA Championship, Lakers Nation required, as the NBA’s most lucrative franchise put itself back on the map.
Unfortunately, the road back to a title has proven to be immensely difficult since.
This season, especially, the Lakers are dealing with a number of roster problems that have only been further exposed amid LeBron James’ injury.
Monday night’s highly anticipated matchup against the Bulls was supposed to be a test of their skills, but it’s one they failed miserably, losing by 18 points.
On Twitter, the franchise was at the center of criticism and ridicule by both their own fans and the haters as well.
this shit embarrassing @Lakers we need LeBron back 😒 https://t.co/IYHVdkHGPE pic.twitter.com/ooWRXUPIWJ
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) November 16, 2021
https://twitter.com/DrGuru_/status/1460481101256876033https://twitter.com/imaginebluetit/status/1460491078944149504https://twitter.com/aznpikachu215/status/1460491010392289283
This team really had me fooled pic.twitter.com/D8Rv4Ncias
— The Villain (@BigFella_0) November 16, 2021
https://twitter.com/shamon_x/status/1460487635844096001
Bubble frauds. Ain't been shit since the aau tournament 😂😂😂
— H (@hhh6855) November 16, 2021
lakers fans rn : pic.twitter.com/nHv7i09feK
— AzedCodes (@4zeddine) November 16, 2021
Early on, there was a lot of optimism and faith that the Lakers would be competing for a title.
Instead, folks are quickly jumping off the bandwagon.
“At this particular juncture, a berth to the second round of the playoffs and that’s about all. I’m not predicting that’s gonna happen just yet, but they’re giving us no to be enthusiastic. LeBron James looks relatively human. Can we count on Carmelo Anthony this year? 52% from 3-point range and 50% from the field? As good as I know he is, and as proud as I am of him of still being in this league, I don’t think we can count on those numbers to continue, and then there is Russell Westbrook. [He’s] averaging 18, 8 and 8, but shooting 25% from 3-point range, about 41% from the field, that’s not going to cut it,” Stephen A. Smith said on NBA Countdown Wednesday night.
Needless to say, the season is still so young, and there’s plenty of time for the Lakers to figure things out. When LeBron James comes back, it might be all they need to start dominating once again.
But something says a deeper problem is at work here, one the presence of James alone will not fix.
