Coaches don't fly undetected when they're guiding the Los Angeles Lakers and after five straight losses, D'Antoni's seat my be getting hotter, per Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding:
Not only was Los Angeles' blunder against the Philadelphia 76ers its fifth consecutive loss, it was the team's second straight versus an NBA bottom-feeder. Two nights previously, the Lakers fell to the Utah Jazz.
Five games under .500 and falling out the Western Conference's playoff picture fast, fingers will start gesturing in D'Antoni's direction, if they haven't already. He will be blamed for Los Angeles' transgressions. For the mounting losses.
Magic Mike will be held responsible for a quandary approaching catastrophe that is out of his control.
What's In A Healthy Roster?
The Lakers don't know, because they aren't healthy. Haven't been for quite some time.
When judging coaches, available personnel must be taken into account. Yes, the Lakers dropped two in a row to the tanking Jazz and Sixers. Under normal circumstances that's embarrassing, punishable by a closed-door meeting where the general manager and owner throw holiday jeers in your direction.
But there's nothing normal about the Lakers.
Against the Jazz and Sixers, they were without Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Blake and Steve Nash, three of whom (Nash, Kobe and Blake) have missed serious time this season. Gasol himself is battling an upper respiratory infection, further burdening his already loaded 33-year-old shoulders.
Then there's Xavier Henry, who suffered a strained right knee against Philly, according to the Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan.
"Just caught in a weird position," Henry said. "It feels weird. ... It just felt a little loose."
Well, that doesn...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
