AUTHOR: JACK GORDON
Hey, lifelong Lakers fan checking in.
I just wanted to let everyone know that I have officially made my decision: this is my least favorite Lakers team of all time. I hate watching them.
Keep in mind that I was born in 2001, and the first real teams that I have memories and connections to began around 2012. It’s possible that if I was older, the 2012 Lakers team with Steve Nash and Dwight Howard would have topped this list, but I just wasn’t old enough yet to be invested.
Even starting from 2013, calling this year’s Lakers team my least favorite might sound dramatic considering our depressing mid-2010s run. Of course I remember those teams. How could I forget the likes of Steve Blake, Ryan Kelly, Nick Young, Wesley Johnson, my plumber, my electrician, my middle school P.E. teacher, and, of course, Robert “The Janitor” Sacre?
How can I justify comparing those sub-20 win, bottom of the league-teams with a .500, LeBron James-led team currently sitting in playoff position in the Western Conference?
The difference is expectation. The 2013-2018 Lakers teams were horrible, but we also knew that they were going to be horrible. This was a transition period. Kobe was nearing retirement, and out of love and respect we paid him a max contract; in return for his farewell tour, our team-building abilities were severely halted. There was little to no expectation for those teams, and that kept our pain to a consistent but manageable level.
But this year's team is just painful to watch outright. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I legitimately become sad every time I turn on a game and we are in a 4-point hole against Sacramento for the tenth time this season. This team is bad for so many more reasons than the Robert Sacre teams.
Here is how you know that Lakers fans hate this team: when every conversation consists of almost all questions and no statements. Here are some actual examples I’ve experienced, like,
“Which do you think is worse, our offense or our defense?... Seriously? Have you watched us play offense? How do we score in the fourth quarter?... That’s true, our defense is pretty bad too… I know, right? Why does it seem like there is literally never anyone in the paint?”
and,
“I was just thinking, what does THT do well? Like, is he good at anything?... I guess, but he’s pretty bad at that too. It’s not like he’s creating shots for other people. Why are we paying him $30 million again?... By the way, I looked up his three point percentage, can you guess what it is?... Lower… Haha nope, lower… lower… It's 22 percent. Isn’t that insane?”
So why do I hate watching the Lakers so much this year? There’s a lot of reasons, but we have to start with the $44 million elephant in the crypto.com room. I had no idea how to feel about the Russell Westbrook trade when it happened, but once the season started, it became clear that it was an absolute disaster. His fit with this roster is just horrific, and it hasn’t been fun watching him this year. He used to be one of my favorite players in the league, and we all used to think, ‘Man, when he figures out how to slow down and control his pace, he’s gonna be amazing.’ Well, he never figured it out, and now that his athleticism has started to fade, the decision-making and basketball skills that he never developed fully have come back to haunt him. I’ve watched almost every Lakers game this season. His decision-making, on both ends of the court, in the final few minutes of the game are damaging to the team. He can’t shoot the ball (which would help LeBron), turns the ball over excessively, and he misses a lot of layups (as my dad loves to point out, and he barely watches basketball). Even simple things that you would expect and need from even an average guard, like entry passing, Westbrook is not good at. I remember yelling at my TV at the beginning of the season when Westbrook and AD would be on the floor together, and for some reason would not run pick & rolls despite having no other offensive system to speak of. Instead, Westbrook would dribble around and eventually send an entry pass to Davis in the post, which might either get tipped or lead to a missed mid-range jumper.
Once AD got injured, we eventually tried going small with LeBron at the center position. Offensively, this seemed to help Westbrook a bit, since it freed up the middle of the court for him to do stuff. It’s the same thing that Houston did when they traded Capela and Westbrook's numbers shot up. Completely change the team, and maybe Westbrook can contribute. The problem with this adjustment, obviously, was that our defense became even worse than it already was. Without any big men or real on-ball defenders aside from Avery Bradley, opposing teams seemingly waltz into the paint on every single possession. Seriously, in any close game, we pray for LeBron to bail us out on offense, but my hope as a fan gets bashed over and over again when there is no resistance on defense whatsoever.
This leads me to the main reason it's so painful to watch this team. The Lakers are a .500 team, with wins that have come almost exclusively against below .500 teams. However, we do not beat any of these teams in decisive fashion. Here is another question I’m constantly asking myself: “Geez, can we get a single definitive win against a bad team? Why is LeBron averaging 30 points just for us to eke out games against the Timberwolves?” Against any good team, anyone that watches will understand why the Lakers can’t be considered a good team. The contrast is always clear, and there is just something about this team where it never feels like there is an obvious path for hope or optimism in any game. The most depressing part is that we have played so many bad teams, and have struggled to win games. At some point, our schedule is going to get much more difficult.
Westbrook can’t be blamed for everything, though. Anthony Davis, before the injury, was having one of his worst seasons and was the worst mid-range shooter in the NBA by percentage. He fits being on a team I hate watching, because he is the most frustrating player I have ever watched - someone who has so much talent, and can so clearly be dominant, yet doesn’t have the drive to do so.
Talen Horton-Tucker, who for some reason was relied upon by the organization to become some instrumental piece of the team’s future, was chosen over Alex Caruso in free agency. I have never understood what the best version of Horton-Tucker is supposed to be, but I do not enjoy watching him play - and clearly neither does Frank Vogel, because it seems like he plays less and less.
One common thing that delusional Lakers fans were saying early on was, “Well, we don’t have Ariza or Nunn yet. Just wait until they get back, and things will change.” That was dumb. Has anyone watched Ariza lately? He is like a corpse, just looking to pass the ball off as soon as he gets it.
I am also not sure why we signed Deandre Jordan, or why we thought an old roster would be a good thing. Austin Reeves and Malik Monk are exciting players to watch - I wonder why! Hm, is it because they are relatively youthful and athletic and care about every game? Somehow Carmelo Anthony is one of our most important players, something that probably isn’t a great sign.
The list goes on, and I could rant forever. As I’m finishing this up, the Lakers have lost a 14-point lead to Sacramento once again to fall back to .500. LeBron has 30+. Reeves is trying. Westbrook is 2-12 from the field. Dwight Howard has another DNP. The Lakers gave up multiple wide open shots on defense down the stretch. Like clockwork. Ready to do it again the next time.
This team sucks to watch because we were supposed to be a title contender, and instead it's just a legitimately mediocre team. And there isn’t much hope for a trade, because Westbrook makes too much money and everyone else on the team makes too little. And there isn’t much hope in general, because the team is so old that there aren't many ways to improve for the future. Watching the team flounder every game to keep their heads above water genuinely bums me out, and this is why it's my least favorite Lakers team.
Oh, well. I love the Lakers and I can’t wait to talk myself back into them. Westbrook always plays way better in the second half of the season! Anthony Davis is gonna come back at some point! We still have LeBron James! This team is built for the playoffs! *Sigh*
SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE
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