While the Lakers have had some impressive wins over the past few months, there is no doubt that they are not the team fans hoped they’d be at this point in the season.
Without any sort of cohesion on offense and practically no intensity on defense, there is a sense that the Purple and Gold have lost their identity, and patience is starting to wear thin on all corners.
Earlier this week, after (arguably) the team’s worst loss of the season, Laker legend James Worthy embodied the feelings of the entire fanbase in his frustrated rant on Spectrum.
“You are the Los Angeles Lakers, you have that on the front of your chest, that means a lot. That means maximum effort every night, that means winning your home games, unless a Golden State comes in or Arizona, a team that’s really good, you might lose a game at home,” he said on Spectrum SportsNet. “But you definitely beat the Indianas, the Oklahomas, the Houston Rockets. You demolish those teams when they come into your home. That’s not happening. To see the inconsistency it seems no sense of urgency. Nobody respects the Lakers like they used to, they’re not afraid of you anymore.”
“By you continuing to lose you just give all teams, not just good teams but some subpar teams like Indiana, like Oklahoma, they come in here they feel like you’re disrespecting, you don’t play them a full 48 minutes and somehow they feel like they’re going to get back in the game. You don’t take care of the little things, you don’t box out, you don’t get back on transition defense all the things that have won 17 championships here it’s not obvious to us here.”
.@JamesWorthy42 & @geeter3 discuss last night's disappointing loss and look ahead at the #Lakers upcoming 6-game road trip. pic.twitter.com/XGRtqXZOgS
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 21, 2022
The Lakers have a rich history of glamour and success that stretches back to the early days of the NBA. As one of basketball’s greatest franchises, the Purple and Gold are usually given a certain degree of respect by their peers.
This season, though, they’ve become more of a laughing stock than anything else. Opponents are having their way with the team in front of their own fans as things seemingly fall apart from the inside out.
Tonight’s win over Orlando was a good start at getting back on track, but it’s going to take more than a victory over the NBA’s worst squad to earn back the fear and respect they were once afforded.
