Written By: Paul Egbeyemi
Edited By: Cameron Schoffro
2020 made for a very interesting year with many changes to life as we know it. But in terms of sport, the 2020 NBA Season produced a familiar champion, the Los Angeles Lakers. Their roster included Rajon Rondo, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, and of course one of the best players of all time: Lebron James. Just two years later, the Lakers made blockbuster changes by adding star point guard Russell Westbrook and veteran forward Carmelo Anthony, finalizing what looked like the next super team. With such star power, you would expect this team to be dominating the NBA; but as of today, the Lakers sit in 9th place in the Western Conference, with a record below .500. Considering just two short years ago they sat atop the league, what exactly went wrong? This article will break down the fall from grace of the most celebrated franchise in league history.
First of all, many of the Lakers' troubles can be attributed to the former MVP, Russell Westbrook. Westbrook was signed coming off a disappointing year at Washington, but his status as a top-tier talent remained. He is notorious for his monstrous stat lines, which were capped off by a triple-double season that ended in a playoff berth for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Moving to the Lakers, questions of his efficiency, shooting, and turnover ratio caused slight concern, but now they have become a legitimate problem. In his last five games, Westbrook shot 37% from the field and a shocking 20% from 3 point range. These numbers put him amongst the league's lowest for guards. Russell Westbrook leads the league with 231 total turnovers, with an average of 4 per game. On top of this, his player efficiency rating sits just over 15, which does not crack the top 50 in the league. When watching Lakers games, it is apparent that Westbrook’s shot selection is consistently questionable, and his general court awareness seems to be falling behind. A player who once averaged 30 points a game with ease is now struggling to reach a 20 point average. Of course, the adjustment to playing alongside Lebron James may be hindering his ability to boost his stats, but their team play has not seen any true success throughout the 57 games played thus far. It seems that Westbrook shines when he has a team built around him, rather than contributing to a contender with other stars. He saw extreme levels of career success when he was the franchise player in Oklahoma, but as it stands, his efforts in the supporting cast of the Lakers have fallen short.
The problems continue with another member of LA's “Big 3”. Simply put, Anthony Davis is fragile. His ability on the court is not in question, but his ability to check into games is. Despite averaging 23 points per game alongside 10 rebounds on 53% shooting, his absence from games has hurt the Lakers. Before the all-star break, Davis suffered an ankle sprain against the Jazz, which could keep him off the court for at least a month. His recent injury mirrors his achilles injury last season, which kept him sidelined for 36 games. Throughout his decorated career, Davis has missed 23% of regular-season games due to injury, which adds up to almost 200 missed games. Now, the Lakers are expected to endure the remainder of an already disappointing season without their star power forward. Many question if his return will prompt another injury and hinder the Lakers' success once again.
Overall, the Lakers roster lacks rotational balance. The acquisition of new talent also meant a loss of old talent, which won their team a championship just two years ago. Key players such as Alex Caruso and Kyle Kuzma left the team, which left Los Angeles without the depth necessary for success. On August 6th, 2021, LA signed known shooters Carmelo Anthony and Malik Monk in an attempt to fill roster holes with important role players and help the team's spacing. The issue is that both Carmelo Anthony and Malik Monk have been streaky and inconsistent in their performances; they have failed to support the star players with a solid bench rotation. Monk's two games in succession provided a microcosm of this flaw in the Lakers' play. On January 30th of this year, Malik Monk dropped 33 points with 8 three-pointers against the Hawks. The Lakers still lost the game, but his immense contribution kept the score close. The following game, on February 2nd, saw Monk score only 7 points in 31 minutes of play, on much worse efficiency in the one point loss to the bitter rival Clippers. Without necessary consistency, the bench cannot compete with their opponents. Also, on February 3rd, Carmelo Anthony suffered a hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined until now. The Lakers need a roster that can perform each night, and poor performance in the depth of their rotation has left them at an unsatisfactory position in the Western Conference.
To conclude, the Los Angeles Lakers have seen success in the past, but they currently face adversity. Underperformance, injury, and lack of bench support have crippled a team that entered the season with high hopes. With the conclusion of all-star weekend, perhaps the Lakers turn a new leaf and show the league what they can do. On the other hand, this may just be the start of the Lakers' problems, as they only have so much time to prove themselves before the playoff seeds dry up. However, with a seemingly never-aging Lebron James and a roster full of potential, the Lakers are far from hopeless and would prove to be a daunting matchup to a high-seed, if they can manage to make the playoffs.
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