The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have the best start to the 2022-23 NBA season, suffering their first loss of the campaign at the hands of the Golden State Warriors, who drifted away from the Purple and Gold after struggling to put some distance during the first half of the game.
Now, the Lakers will try to bounce back with a win against the Los Angeles Clippers tonight, but that seems like an unlikely possibility right now, even if Kawhi Leonard comes off the bench for the Clips. The Lakers haven’t shown huge improvement so far, and that has already become a problem for them.
While LeBron James admitted that the team might be getting good looks due to their lack of shooting, others are calling out Rob Pelinka for the same thing, and the rest are already giving up on the Lakers. Some still had hope that they could be somehow good this season, but the reality is very different.
Bill Simmons Doesn’t Have High Hopes For Angeles Lakers This Season
Bill Simmons of The Ringer is one of those that don’t see the Lakers going beyond the play-in tournament this campaign. During a recent conversation with Kevin O’Connor on his podcast, Simmons said that even if Anthony Davis played at an incredible level, the Lakers will be the 10th-best team in the West in his eyes.
“I think this is actually the worst three through 10 in the league,” Simmon said. “Who has a worst three through 10? Even if you go to the bad teams like OKC, San Antonio, maybe Charlotte. I still might like their three through 10 better.”
“You could argue every single player three through 10 in the Lakers is below average. … To me, the Lakers are the 10th best roster no matter how good (Anthony) Davis is.”
Davis himself has stated that the Lakers are underdogs in this campaign. Nobody thinks they can do something good with their current roster, and perhaps that’s true. Unless they make some real changes and bring some shooters, they will keep struggling and things will only get worse for them.
AD has to step up and carry the team so LeBron James can focus on showing up in the playoffs, but it remains to be seen if the big man stays healthy and the rest of the team cooperates to get a playoff spot.
