The Lakers are not the same this season. They look old. They lack motivation, enthusiasm, and the killer instinct that an NBA champion needs. The team chemistry that the Lakers showed in the last three seasons seems long gone. The Celtics, Heat, Mavericks, and Spurs all have played better throughout the season. They appear to be better candidates for the championship than the Lakers.
The Lakers currently stand in the third position in the Western Conference with a record of 38 wins and 19 losses. They are 8.5 games behind the Spurs in the West. Although they still have a winning record, they do not look like the Lakers teams of the past. They have lost almost every game against the top teams in the League, including a home loss to the Heat on Christmas. It appeared like they would turn their season around when they recently defeated the Celtics in Boston. Yet, this moment of triumph was only a flash. The Lakers followed this victory with a couple of losses to some of the worst teams in the league, such as the Cavaliers.
The situation appears dim. The Lakers are not playing well, even though all of their star players are healthy. It seems like the Lakers simply forgot how to play together and win.
Despite this, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson still think that the Lakers are the team to beat. Bryant and Jackson continually downplay the team’s regular season struggles, and say that they are confident that the team will improve by the beginning of the playoffs. The Lakers feel that they will magically be able to “turn it on” in the playoffs.
Is this true, though? Can a team struggle throughout an entire season and then just rise to the occasion when the moment of truth presents itself. Are the Lakers just so good that they can decide when they will start shinning?
This seems unlikely. For the most part, a team has to come together and play well during the regular season to have any chance of winning the championship.
Nevertheless, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and the Lakers organization deserve the benefit of the doubt. Jackson has won 11 championships (more than any other coach in league history). Bryant has won 5 championships, and is one of the best players of all time. The Lakers have won 16 championships, second only to the Celtics. If anybody can do it, the Lakers can. They will have to make several changes and probably trade for new talent in order to have a shot at turning the season around. It won’t be easy. Yet, a sleeping giant may be on the verge of waking and changing the course of the NBA season.
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