Entering this season, the Lakers were burdened with big expectations. With LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, the fans and media prepared for a dominant run by the Purple and Gold.
Instead, the team has struggled to keep its playoff hopes alive.
Heading into Tuesday’s game against Dallas, the Lakers are 12 games below .500 and just .5 games away from falling to 11th in the West.
On First Take this morning, JJ Redick couldn’t help but compare this year’s Lakers team to the 2012-2013 squad that failed so spectacularly years ago.
“There are some comparisons between that Lakers team in 2013-2013 and this year’s Lakers team. That was the Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Kobe Lakers team that never figured it out. And this team, again, has never figured it out. And some of that, of course, is LeBron’s had some injuries, AD has some injuries, but both of these teams have just completely underperformed relative to expectations.”
.@jj_redick sees comparisons between this years Lakers team to the 2012-2013 Lakers.
“That was the Steve Nash/Dwight Howard/Kobe Lakers team that never figured it out. … Both of these teams have just completely underperformed relative to expectations.” pic.twitter.com/MfR9aYaytT
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 29, 2022
The comparisons go beyond just the performance. Just like Kobe in 2012-2013, LeBron James is keeping the Lakers alive almost completely on his own. And, just like today, the Lakers from the 2012-2013 team were hammered with various injuries all season, including Kobe’s infamous Achilles tear that spring.
With all the similarities, there’s only one question left to ask: will it end the same way? Back in 2013, the Lakers got swept by the Spurs in round 1 of the playoffs. So far, this year’s team would be considered lucky to get that far.
Still, it’s not too late for the Lakeshow to force a different conclusion.
