[Q] wrote:With suspensions and injuries, it doesn't seem like they ever got off on the right foot. Not saying that they'd be in first place if Ball wasn't injured, but it does make me wonder "what if?"
They had one of the easiest schedules in the NBA for the first 30-35 games, and some obvious problems were already on the table pre-Lebron injury. They were in 4th place, but 1.5 games out of 10th. Thats with one of the easiest schedules to that point.
Up to this date, they have had the easiest schedule in the Western Conference all season. Last year, MEM, SAC and PHO had tougher schedules in the West than the Lakers.
https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/rankin ... h-by-otherWhether he or Ball got hurt or not, it's questionable if they would have been at or above .500, as the games kept getting tougher. Since LeBrons return, they are WAYYY below .500, and he looks as healthy as ever offensively, whether it is flying in for dunks and quickly rebounding afterwards, etc. If you watch healthy CLE LeBron side by side with post injury LeBron, they are moving identical. I literally see no difference.
Last year, the Lakers went 37-45, and were in a playoff fight at this point last season. Say they chose to not sign LeBron, and keep Randle and Lopez, and keep building on the chemistry that the team had last year, they may be in the 7th or 8th spot right now. Randle has continued his play from late last season, and is basically a 20 and 10 guy any night he gets the minutes, Lopez has obviously been balling with the Bucks. IMO, they would have had a 5-10 win improvement over last year if they had kept most of that group intact, not signed LeBron, and than they would have been able to attack free agency this offseason without all the drama, and the franchise would look more enticing to play for for the top free agents.
Anybody who thinks that all this drama, LeBrons play, and ownerships handling of the teams players/issues doesn't hurt the look of the team for potential suitors, they are lying to themselves.
Last year through injuries (more than this year, even), and trades, the Lakers won almost 40 games, and had momentum with that group. Nobody is saying that group was going to win a title this year, but the growth was obvious. Now that growth is stunted, and the future of every player on team not named LeBron is in question, and that's a damn shame.
And the crowd that says "it's easy to say these things now, nobody was saying that at the beginning of the season", that is complete BS. Myself, and others that have written about it, or talked about it on social media, who had watched LeBron over the last few years in CLE, as well as watched the Lakers last season, were saying that chemistry would possibly be destroyed, that the young guys development would be stunted, and the players and coach would be thrown under the bus all season. Players and coach, not LeBron. However, with the spotlight brighter than ever on LeBron because he is a Laker, and because of the all time greats the franchise had before him, the scrutiny has been the highest it's ever been, as more people seem angry and frustrated at the teams dysfunction.