There was talk of a 70-win season, another potential three-peat, another MVP award for Kobe Bryant, or at the very least, a return to their 2009 Championship form.
However, through their numerous failures throughout the season, the Lakers quieted that chatter long ago.
The savage stomping they received by the Nuggets in their first matchup of the season, the Christmas day massacre they suffered at the hands of LeBron James and the Cavaliers, and most recently, the abhorrent game they played in Oklahoma City are all definitive signs that these Lakers are nowhere near the behemoths they were expected to be.
As if those games weren’t example enough, they had already exceeded last year’s loss total weeks ago.
To be fair, the Lakers have been faced with injury problems they didn’t have last season. Last year, Kobe Bryant played all 82 games and the Lakers were never without both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum; this year offered no such fortune.
Do the injuries alone account for the gap between where the Lakers are and where most (myself included) predicted they’d be? Or are the Lakers just not that good?
Utah, Orlando and Cleveland all average a higher differential between points scored and points allowed. Cleveland, Boston, and Dallas all sport better road records. What’s worse, Cleveland, Orlando, and Denver have been widely noted for playing with more urgency.
Why?
Could it be mainly due to the visible wear and tear on Kobe’s body catching up with up him? After all, his health has been questionable since early December, maybe even earlier. Do the afflictions of the shepherd justify the scattering of the sheep?
Maybe.
Or maybe the expectations hovering around this team were far too great to begin with.
The Lakers still start Derek Fisher at point guard, st...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
