Is This What Rock Bottom Looks Like for Los Angeles Lakers?

Los Angeles Lakers fans wish.

Losers of six straight, and 12 of their last 13, the Lakers have descended well past rock bottom, into the hellish underworld located beneath it, where torment and anguish become inescapable bedfellows.

This was never going to be a season championed by winning and two-way dominance. Those expectations were reserved for last year's star-studded disaster, when Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol were unable to establish the chemistry necessary to contend.

Outfitted with an injured Kobe, broken Nash and hauls of NBA beatniks and journeymen playing for their next contract, and sans Metta World Peace and Howard, the Lakers were never going to be great. 

But they were supposed to be better than this.

 

Still No Identity



The Lakers are a nondescript team.

Injuries certainly haven't helped, but by now, even without Kobe and Nash, they should have an identity—something or someone that defines them. 

They don't. Where there should be definitive character, there's a team trapped in no man's land.

The Lakers rank 22nd in offensive efficiency—hardly indicative of a Mike D'Antoni-coached team—and 26th in defensive efficiency, finding themselves 8.5 games back of a playoff spot with the Western Conference's second-worst record.



Their free-spirited, largely nameless attack was admittedly charming early on—when it was bankrolling wins. Surprising, unadulterated and impressive victories.

Los Angeles began the season 10-9, effectively treading water and biding time until everyone was healthy. With Kobe back, maybe the Lakers would sneak into the playoffs. Maybe their chemistry would reach new heights.

Maybe this team, the one pieced together with offbeat and aging talent, was better than last year's version.
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers