No one is surprised when the Lakers fall at this point in the year. Barring incredible performances from LeBron James, they can and most often do lose to absolutely anyone. They can’t defend. They have no consistent offense outside of “give the ball to LeBron and hope he creates chicken salad out of chicken …,” well, you know. And, because they’re the Lakers, with LeBron James, everyone considers a victory over them to be a merit badge. They might be the first worthless No. 9 seed to have a massive bullseye on their back every night.
Now, the Lakers (-7.5 vs. Minnesota) certainly aren’t the worst team in the league. Sure, they’re a far cry from the title contender many expected in the summer, but they’re not going to be in play (in a serious math sense, anyway) for the No. 1 overall pick.
Still, after a 124-104 blowout loss to the Timberwolves, they potentially carry a different dark blemish:
The worst team of LeBron James’ storied career.
If the Lakers lose tonight they'll fall 11 games under .500.
To find the last time a team with LeBron James on its roster that was 11 games under .500 — you have to go all the way back to his rookie season when the 2003-04 Cavaliers finished 35-47. pic.twitter.com/iLVFzjKDUO
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 17, 2022
The Lakers have trailed by 25+ points in 3 straight games. This is the first time a LeBron James team has trailed by 25 points in 3 consecutive games pic.twitter.com/MQXCBkrcEp
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 17, 2022
Woof. What else can you say? This futility is past beating a dead horse or even pouring salt in the purple and gold wound.
I don’t mean to sully the legends of Carlos Boozer and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, but any team that compares the early Cavaliers squads of James’ career can’t be good. Lest we also forget that those teams had no expectations outside of hoping James would grow up to destroy the rest of the NBA. These current Lakers have, at one point, had five probable future Hall of Famers (James, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard) active and healthy.
Yet, here they are. On the outside looking in, without a paddle, 11 games under .500. And to add insult to their failure, they at least resemble the worst team James has ever played for.
There’s about a month left in the 2021-2022 NBA regular season. The end can’t come soon enough for the Lakers.
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