Photo credits: "2013 Los Angeles Lakers 1" by RMTip21 is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.
As a lot of you may or may not know I am a major fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and yesterday, March 29, 2022, I was so lucky to see get destroyed by the Dallas Mavericks, 128-110. At this point in the season, everyone of us know the Lakers aren't a title contender at all but when you have to sit for 2-3 hours at a live game, it is a completely horrific experience. I have seen the Lakers at their worst from 2014-2019, and none of those seasons compare to this disappointment of a season. Of course I knew the Lakers would lose by at least 20, especially since Luka Dončič is averaging 29.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 7.3 assists since the All-Star Break. As a fan there is nothing I hate to see more than lack of effort and that's what the Lakers showed in Tuesday's match-up against the Mavericks.
From my point of view the Lakers not only have the worst bench rotation in the NBA, but the worst starting line-up when Lebron and Anthony Davis aren't playing. The Lakers front office this year, did not give Head Coach, Frank Vogel, the necessary tools he needs to make this team look somewhat good on the defensive side of the ball. There as been a lot of people calling for the Lakers to fire Coach Vogel, but what they forget is that all of his teams are centered around defense, so when you have to bring in Kent Bazemore, Carmelo Anthony and Austin Reeves off your bench there's not much you can do. Watching the game live showed me just how bad the Lakers are defensively, when I saw Luka and Dwight Powell, run the same pick-and-roll, 3 times for an ally-oop. Luka was able to use his mismatch against Kent Bazemore, and expose how bad he his defensively throughout the whole game and on these three possessions, Powell would set a high screen on Bazemore's backside, roll directly to the paint and catch a lob. The first time I was like ok they didn't see it, then the second time it was like alright they just did that, but the third time it happened I was ready to suit up.
I was so disappointed and of course the Lakers did nothing for my mental health. There's not much to be excited about for these last 5-6 games, as the Lakers have dropped out of the play-in tournament. Personally, I don't think they belong there and if there was some way that they get into the play-in tournament, they would be taking a spot from a well deserving team that has worked hard to get there. With the last few games coming up in April, I hope the Lakers are ready to start making the necessary moves for the offseason, to make this team a title contender again in the Lebron and AD era.
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