Requiem for the 2022 L.A. Lakers
The L.A. Lakers' season was pronounced dead on arrival shortly after midnight Eastern time after the Phoenix Suns--who had already clinched the NBA's best regular season record by a large margin--defeated the Lakers 121-110. The Lakers thus played their way out of the Play-In Tournament, and into what will probably be a tumultuous offseason. LeBron James sat on the bench wearing sunglasses, unable to play due to an ankle injury. James has played just 56 games this season with three games remaining on the schedule; he will not be eligible for this season's scoring title unless he plays in at least two of the remaining games. James is 1325 points away from tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's regular season career scoring record. If James can keep his body from falling apart, he still has enough skills remaining to easily score 1325 points--but he has played 67 games or less in each of the past four seasons (although it should be noted that two of those seasons did not last the full 82 games due to the COVID-19 schedule changes).
There will be plenty of time to analyze the Suns--who seem poised for a deep playoff run--so for now it suffices to say that they are superior to the Lakers in terms of coaching, team chemistry, and having a more well-balanced roster. Oh, one other thing: I have been saying for over a decade that Chris Paul will never be the best player on a championship team--and we have not seen anything this season that refutes that notion, because there is no doubt that the Suns' best player is Devin Booker, who is putting up one of the most under the radar MVP-caliber seasons that we have seen in a long time.
All that remains now for the 2022 Lakers is assigning blame, but that is a significant detail to James, who whines and cries about how much "respect" he is given more than any other athlete of his historical status. James established himself as a member of pro basketball's Pantheon a long time ago, and it should be beneath him to proclaim himself to be the greatest basketball player of all-time, but he is laser-focused on how he is described and characterized. There is a big difference between trying to prove that you are the greatest basketball player--something that both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant did--and repeatedly declaring that you are the greatest basketball player. Actions mean much more than words in this context.
The assigning of blame is important to James, because he will not allow his legacy to be tainted by the Lakers' train wreck season. It is fascinating to see how much James craves power and recognition while shirking responsibility. I have referred to him this season as the Lakers' General Manager/Coach/Team Captain/P.R. Director/Self-Proclaimed Greatest Player of All-Time; that is obviously a tongue in cheek reference, yet it contains more than a grain of truth: James played a major role in building this roster, he has proven on more than one occasion with more than one team that he prefers to coach himself as opposed to being coached, and he has spent at least as much time this season trying to burnish his legacy/do damage control as he has trying to figure out how to win games.
All of these things can be (and are) simultaneously true:
1) LeBron James is one of the 10 greatest players of all-time. Nothing that happens as his career winds down will diminish the status that he has already established.
2) LeBron James brings drama with him wherever he plays (we all know who Pat Riley was talking about when he referred to "smiling faces with hidden agendas," and I cannot recall Riley ever using such words to describe any other great player that has played for one of his teams).
3) LeBron James, at 37 years old and in his 19th season, is physically capable of doing things on a basketball court that no other player in history could do at his age and/or years of service (the 38 year old Michael Jordan, in his 14th season after two retirements, averaged 22.9 ppg while shooting .416 from the field in 60 games; James has averaged 30.3 ppg this season while shooting .524 from the field in 56 games).
4) LeBron James' body is breaking down from the standpoint of being able to play a full season; he is not immune to the ravages of time and mileage, and he is now experiencing what previously befell Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and every other great player who tried to sustain heavy minutes/heavy production past the age of 35.
5) James is still highly productive individually when he is able to play, but the missed games, the lack of consistent defensive effort, and the focus on so many things other than team success combine to limit the effectiveness of his leadership from the standpoint of team success. A player who is conserving his body to break the all-time scoring record cannot convince his teammates that it is important to sacrifice individual goals for team success, or that it is important to do "little things" like playing hard all the time, and focusing on defense.
6) There is no way that James and his friends in the media will permit him to be blamed for the Lakers' problems. The narrative is already set: heroic elder statesman did everything he could to carry a deficient, poorly coached roster to the playoffs, but his body betrayed him--despite the $1 million per year that he spends on maintenance (note that the media will emphasize that James' injuries are despite all of his heroic efforts to preserve his body)--and no one else on the team stepped up to save the day.
Before I assign blame for one of the most disappointing team performances in NBA history, I have to acknowledge that I predicted that the Lakers would be the best team in the West, declaring, "If James, Davis, and Westbrook are healthy during the playoffs then this team will be very difficult to beat. Concerns about chemistry and on-court fit will be proven to be baseless if the Big Three players are healthy...If the Lakers are healthy, they will win the West, and it would be fascinating to see prime Giannis Antetokounmpo versus elder statesman LeBron James in the NBA Finals."
I could correctly note that I clearly based my prediction on the Lakers being healthy, but honesty forces me to admit that I did not conceive of the Lakers being this bad even if I would have known in advance how many games James and Anthony Davis would miss--not to mention that the Lakers were, at best, a .500 team this season even at full strength.
What did I misevaluate about the Lakers? Let me count the ways:
1) The 2020 "bubble title" fooled me. When James fled Cleveland for L.A., I assumed that he had gone Hollywood, and was more interested in glitz/glamour than in winning more championships, particularly since he kept insisting that the 2016 championship cemented his greatest ever status. Even after acquiring Davis, the Lakers did not look consistently great during the 2020 season, but the COVID-19 pause helped them to regain some energy, and they did just enough to win the "bubble title." I should have realized that a fourth title with a third different team is probably enough to satisfy James, particularly since it is unlikely that he can match Jordan's six titles (never mind that the record is not six, but 11, held by Bill Russell). I expected James to do whatever it takes to help this team win; instead, James did whatever he could do to march toward the magic 38,387 number.
For the Lakers to be successful with this roster, they needed to defend, control the boards, and push the ball, with Russell Westbrook handling the ball in the middle while James and Davis filled the lanes. If the opposing team stopped the initial fastbreak, then James or Davis could pound away in the paint, the way that they did to win the "bubble title."
Instead, James relegated Westbrook to standing in the corner spotting up for three pointers. By the way, did you know that Westbrook shot a career-high .438 on corner three pointers this season? Of course you don't know that, because that does not fit the narratives that Westbrook is (1) uncoachable, (2) unwilling to adjust how he plays, and (3) can't shoot. GM/Coach LeBron James decided to turn one of the league's most dangerous open court players into Kyle Korver. Westbrook did not complain; he went to the corner, and became the best corner three point shooter he could be.
Meanwhile, James attempted a career-high 8.0 three pointers per game this season; instead of attacking the paint the way he did during each of his championship seasons, he jacked up three pointers, hoping to preserve his body while gaining on Abdul-Jabbar three non-contact points at a time.
2) I knew that Anthony Davis, mentally, is the 2020s version of Pau Gasol--a very talented player who can play inside but prefers to drift outside, and who will only come close to his potential if someone else pushes him (a key difference is that prime Gasol was very durable, while Davis has always been brittle). However, the "bubble title" fooled me into thinking that maybe Davis actually wants to be 1B to James' 1A for another season or two before becoming 1A after James retires. Perhaps the biggest disappointment for the Lakers this season is how lackadaisically Davis--the only member of the "Big Three" who is squarely in his physical prime--played even when he was healthy. This is not about numbers--this is about impact. Davis drifted through games even before he was hurt every other minute. The Lakers needed him to dominate the paint on both offense and defense, and that rarely happened this season.
3) If James averaged 25 ppg, Davis averaged 25 ppg, and Westbrook averaged 20 ppg then the Lakers only needed about 35 ppg from the rest of the roster, assuming that they played good enough defense to hold teams to 105 ppg or less. I did not have outlandish expectations for the rest of the roster, but I thought that they could deliver 35 ppg. Instead, James and Davis did not produce 25 ppg each (when you factor in all of the zero point games--i.e., the games that they missed), Westbrook produced a solid 18.4 ppg despite being misused, and the rest of the roster struggled to score consistently or efficiently. To make things worse, the leaky defense yielded 114.8 ppg (26th worst in a 30 team league).
Add that all up--James not playing the right way while also forcing Westbrook out of his proper role, Davis playing indifferently in between his frequent injuries, and the team's inefficient offense being incapable of overcoming the team's horrific defense--and you have a 31-48 team that is out of contention even for 10th place in the West with three games left.
Imagine for a moment that Kobe Bryant presided over this kind of a disaster, never mind if he kept calling himself the greatest player of all-time as his team sank like the Titanic. In that scenario, would the media be latching onto the team's third option as the reason for all of the losing?
We keep hearing a lot of nonsense about Westbrook being washed up, but he is not the guy who missed major chunks of the season and whose body parts are regularly failing him. Westbrook has played 78 out of 79 games so far. His field goal percentage and rpg average are better than his career norms. He averaged 7.1 apg despite James monopolizing the ball and despite being surrounded by the gang that can't shoot straight (which cost Westbrook a lot of assists). If Westbrook is washed up, then one would expect him to be wearing down now as the season draws to a close. Here are his field goal percentages in the past 10 games: 8-18 (.444), 10-15 (.667), 7-14 (.500), 10-20 (.500) 8-15 (.533), 9-17 (.529), 9-18 (.500), 5-15 (.333), 11-15 (.733), 10-20 (.500). That adds up to 87-167 (.521). The eye test shows that Westbrook can still push the ball up the court with great pace, he can still get into the lane, and finish at the rim, and he even can still make his trademark pull up midrange jumper. Ignorant reporters asked him not too long ago how he can remain confident about his shooting (apparently not realizing that his corner three point field goal percentage is great and his overall field goal percentage is at its normal levels), and Westbrook sensibly replied that he remains confident because he has scored over 23,000 career points. Here are some players who scored fewer career regular season points than Westbrook: Adrian Dantley, Dwyane Wade, Elgin Baylor, Clyde Drexler, Gary Payton, Larry Bird, Hal Greer, Walt Bellamy. Westbrook passed all of those players in the past two seasons; most of those players were at or near the end of the line when they reached the vicinity of 23,000 points, but Westbrook is still going strong. If Westbrook ends up on a team next season that uses him correctly, he could easily average 25 ppg.
Look at Westbrook's body language. Not only is his team suffering through an awful season, he is the only member of the "Big Three" who does not have a ring, and he is the main scapegoat for everything that has gone wrong--but despite that, he plays hard, he does not hang his head, he never throws a teammate or the coach under the bus, and when he speaks to the young players he tries to help/motivate, as opposed to criticize/blame. Go back and look at games when James played, and compare his interactions with his teammates to Westbrook's interactions. Turn the volume off so you don't hear Screamin' A, and you decide who is the better teammate and better leader. Have you ever heard a teammate or a coach say anything negative about Westbrook?
We all know what is going to happen next. Truth will be the first casualty, as James' media friends activate the "Save LeBron, destroy Westbrook and Vogel" narrative. The Lakers will likely fire Coach Frank Vogel, who won a championship just two years ago. Then, General Manager James will try to figure out who he wants to play with next season so that he can make it through 50-60 games and break Abdul-Jabbar's record before his body completely gives out. If the record is to be broken, the Lakers will want James to be a Laker when he breaks it, so they will cater to James' every whim regarding the coaching staff and the roster.
Labels: Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Phoenix Suns, Russell Westbrook
posted by David Friedman @ 3:39 AM
27 Comments:
We can talk about Russ' season later. For now, this was a fundamentally doomed experiment. As I've commented before, the Lakers paid six players above the minimum salary:
1) Westbrook (77 games)
2) James (56 games)
3) Davis (40 games)
4) Talen Horton-Tucker (57 games, 16 starts, PER of 11)
5) Luol Deng (0 games)
6) Kendrick Nunn (0 games)
That's just horrible roster-building. And the Lakers were 6-17 without James in the lineup, by last check. Vogel was left rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. If you can find a season as good as James', especially at his age, that was this wasted, let me know. I can say with some confidence that Jeannie Buss and Rob Pelinka are in over their heads. The Lakers' brass was able to say no to Kobe when he wanted to "ship [Andrew Bynum's] ass out" and keep him when he demanded a trade. Jerry Krause was able to overrule Michael Jordan's (strong) negative input against his decisions on multiple occasions.
LeBron is under contract, and his legacy is too important to him to pull a Ben Simmons (or Anthony Davis, for that matter) and sulk his way of a city. The Lakers front office had a responsibility to GM their team properly and trust that if it worked LeBron would stay, and they didn't. They went for Westbrook's name value without considering how he'd fit next to James and Davis or the fact that he was being asked to fill the shoes of four or five above-average players who were now, because of his contract, being replaced by players on minimum-salary contracts. I don't have the energy to talk Westbrook at this current hour, but I remain a bit flummoxed as to how you see him as the wronged party in this quagmire of a season.
You nailed it here David. I highly suspect that James' ankle injury is not as severe as the media/himself make it to be (though his fans will 100% disagree with this). If it is that severe, he wouldn't have been able to play the way he did against the Pelicans. He just didn't want to suit up and get the blame for coming up short and so he chose to sit out instead and like you said, put the blame on Vogel and Westbrook.
If we look at his record as a Laker it's not that impressive at all apart from the bubble championship*. This also to some extent show the difference between the competition in the West vs East in previous years. James have enjoyed a weaker East prior to joining the Lakers which helped get him to 8 straight finals. He wouldn't have been able to do this in the West.
2019: Missed playoffs - he missed quite a number of games but I felt like he intentionally sat out more games as he knew the team didn't have the talents to make and compete in the playoffs.
2020: Bubble Championship - I have said it before, the bubble actually helped him and the Lakers as it gave them a break to rejuvenate themselves. The bubble was also ideal in the sense of there was no distractions and no travel required. They played against an injury riddled and inexperienced Miami Heat team that still took them to 6 games. Going into the playoffs I picked the Clippers over them if they meet in the Western Conference Finals, but the Clippers end up choking against the Nuggets.
2021: First round exit.
2022: Missed playoffs.
Westbrook is as professional and as good of a teammate/leader you can have. All of this criticism from the media is totally unwarranted. No one (unless someone with reasonable knowledge of the game) recognise the fact that LeBron James is super ball dominant AKA "ball hog" (the term used to describe Bryant and Westbrook) and any All Star that plays with him see their numbers decline and end up more of a spot up shooter than ever before. James is too selfish to adapt his game to others. The fact that Westbrook can still produce the numbers this season playing off ball to James is impressive. As you have pointed out, if Bryant was in the same boat as James this season can you imagine the amount of blame and slander he would have gotten? It wouldn't be directed at anyone else but him!
People need to stop elevating James higher than where he should be, which is one of the 10 greatest players ever but not Top 3 or GOAT or better than Bryant or Duncan (his main contemporaries who are also in the Top 10).
I would respectfully disagree at James refusing to adjust his game. (And not for nothing, but it would be understandable if he was set in his ways in year 19.) It's definitely true that "3-and-D" type players tend to have an easier time flourishing around LeBron than players who are used to having the ball in their hands.
LeBron is most comfortable driving to the basket/kicking it out to teammates, that's no secret. In Miami, where they did a better job of building a roster around him than anywhere else, Chris Bosh had to get more comfortable with a catch-and-shoot game and eventually stretch his range to the three-point line, and Dwyane Wade had to become something of a power forward, constantly leveraging defensive attention on LeBron into opportunities for off-ball cuts and sacrificing scoring volume for efficiency. Also, they got a lot better when they stopped using a motley crew of "True" centers, put Bosh at the 5, and had Shane Battier and his three-point shooting at the "4" with LeBron at the "3" (In reality, it was pretty fluid.)
Anyways. In 2020, when the Lakers won the championship, LeBron led the league with 10.2 assists per game. This season, for the first time, he won't lead his own team in assists. 40.7% of his 2-point shots have been assisted, his highest number since his sophomore year in the league. A higher proportion of his shots came from beyond the arc than ever before. Some of that is age, some of that is because of the improvements he's made from the perimeter, but a lot of that is adjusting to how much Russ wants to be in the paint.
He didn't play a second in the frontcourt in 2020 -- this season, 71% of his minutes were at the 4 or the 5. Basketball-Reference says that only 5% of his minutes were at the 5, but he spent far more time as the de facto "center" than he has at any point in his career. (Again, in Year 19!)
His defense certainly wasn't anything to write home about, but considering he was carrying the offensive load, his odometer is full to the brim, and he was well out of his usual position, that's pretty understandable, and his (as well as Russ') DRPM were both positive.
I don't know how much more adjustment you'd want from James -- in fact, I'm genuinely curious -- but I'd say he did his best to be accommodating to Russ, who has one of the more unique sets of strengths and weaknesses we've ever seen in the NBA.
Anonymous:
Clearly, players 4-6 did not provide much value this season, and I agree with you that the overall roster construction was not good. Whose fault is that? I think that it is obvious that James constructs the roster. It is easy to say that the team should protect him from himself but his career demonstrates that this is not how things work--except in Miami, where Pat Riley is probably the only NBA authority who has stood up to James. James left after that, but Miami has still been more than competitive without him. Cleveland on two occasions and now the Lakers have catered to James' every whim. James is much more powerful and much shrewder than Simmons or Davis; if James does not get his way, then he will leave in a manner that destroys the team he leaves while his media friends defend him and say that he had no choice. That will be the narrative now if James does not get the coach and players he wants: "He has to leave L.A. because the team is mismanaged."
I think that I have clearly explained how Westbrook is the "wronged party." He is the third option on an injury-riddled team that has not been put together or coached particularly well, yet media members obsessively focus on blaming Westbrook for everything that is going wrong, to the extent of falsely claiming that he is (1) washed up, (2) uncoachable, and (3) unwilling/unable to improve how he plays. The reality is he is clearly not washed up, he has never caused problems for any of his coaches, and he has improved his game throughout his career. Is his shot selection and decision making perfect at all times? No--and the same is true of every other player, but he is the only player to average a triple double for four different seasons, so his positives more than outweigh his negatives, particularly when he is utilized correctly.
Anonymous:
Thank you!
I am also skeptical about the severity of James' ankle injury, and I wonder if he decided that his personal interests are better served by missing the playoffs, and then pursuing the regular season career scoring record next season. Three or four regular season games now when he is at least a little hobbled would not put him much closer to Kareem, but if the Lakers played the Play-In and then at least the first round of the playoffs he would be "wasting" games that do not count toward Kareem's record. LeBron figured out a while ago that this team is not winning a title, and ever since he figured that out he has been focusing on preserving his body to chase Kareem's record.
Kobe would have done anything possible to carry the team to the Play-In and playoffs, because he played to win championships, but LeBron is not wired that way.
We agree that LeBron has not yet surpassed Kobe or Duncan, much less entered the top three or five conversation.
Anonymous:
LeBron has improved his game over the years, but he does not adjust his game to accommodate his teammates; they must always adjust to him, and that is why All-Stars who play with him see their numbers go down, including Wade, Bosh, Irving, Love, Davis, and now Westbrook. James wants to win his way. Yes, he has won four titles his way, but he has also had some questionable playoff exits during which he disappeared, and he is just 4-6 in the NBA Finals. I know that some would argue that he carried teams to the Finals that no one else could have carried there, but a good counterargument could be made that if he is in fact the greatest player ever then in a seven game series he should be able to impose his will and get four wins.
I disagree that he "did not play a second in the frontcourt in 2020." LeBron dominated in the paint in the playoffs and in the Finals, so I don't care what the "advanced basketball statistics" may say about which position he played. LeBron James is 6-8, 250/260, and he does his best work in the paint, which is where championships are won.
Not only did James fail to adjust his play to maximize Westbrook's skill set, James is very quiet when Westbrook is being blamed for everything. Note that when reporters tried to blame Westbrook's supporting case in OKC (which, post-Durant, was much worse than LeBron's team this season), Westbrook cut off the questioning and refused to let the media blame anyone else. Westbrook rightly said that OKC won and lost as a team. I have never heard LeBron say anything like that. LeBron conveys the notion that he wins because of his individual greatness, and he loses because of others' faults.
A team that acquires Westbrook should be committed to defense, to running the break after getting the defensive rebound, and to letting Westbrook attack with a live dribble in the half court set. The Lakers did very little of any of those things this season. James walked the ball up the court, looked for his offense, and gave up the ball when he had nothing or when he saw opportunities to pad his assist totals. On the one hand, no one his age has ever been able to play at the level that James did this season; on the other hand, it is frustrating to watch him, and see how he is so much more focused on his stats--and on the post-game narrative--than on actually figuring out how to win.
Well, if what you're saying is true, LeBron has two more rings as a GM than Daryl Morey and Sam Hinkie combined. In all seriousness, LeBron knows that history is written by the victors. The scoring record will be a nice little feather in his cap, but what he wants is to get into the "full hand" club with at least one more championship. Loyalty won't help his legacy a bit -- if you think LeBron having an excellent individual season, at least on paper (and I believe on the court as well), while his team missed the playoffs helped his status, I fear I must respectfully disagree.
Also, saying the most durable player in the history of the NBA, who has played more regular season minutes than anyone but Kareem and Karl Malone, more playoff minutes than anyone, and has played in multiple international tournaments and has missed the playoffs four times in 19 seasons (with two of those four seasons being his first two years in the league) "doesn't play to win championships" when he's won four championships and gone to the Finals 10 times is a fairly bold accusation. Kobe absolutely played to win championships as well, but to look at LeBron James' career and say he doesn't care about his team's success requires a vision I personally do not possess.
The Lakers were a top defensive team under Vogel until this season. I'll return to my main point about the Russ trade; he wasn't bad defensively, but the Lakers replaced excellent defenders like Alex Caruso, Dennis S., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to accommodate Russ' $44 million contract, and replaced them with players who could score but can't defend, like Carmelo Anthony and Malik Monk. The players they had who could defend, like Austin Reaves and Stanley Johnson, work hard but frankly have no business being rotation players on a team with NBA title aspirations. Also, Anthony Davis, the team's best defender, was injured for more than half the year. Your crusade to place the blame for the Lakers' miserable season is even more ridiculous than "the media's" desire to pin all the blame on Russ.
Marcel
This season
Is worst in a long time for my Lakers
Vogel a terrible coach
The team was poorly constructed
Russ was bad this year
Anthony Davis is injury prone
Great when out there.
Lebron
I love bron he top 5 all time
But he wasn't good this year
He scored 30 ppg but had no impact on winning
Kobe and Jordan magic bird
Never played on a 11th place team
He shouldnt make the all nba team
Malik monk was good
Carmelo was good
Tht trash
Reeves is good
That it they played bad all year
I think they will be forced to bring russ back even tho they want to move him
No one playing a declining player 47 million
Okc and maybe someone else
But I doubt it
I don't think gonna give up on ad
Yet David
So
Ad
Bron
Russ
Running it back prob gonna happen
U got to get shooters
A center
Couple 3 and d guys
Hope ad and bron stay healthy
Maybe Russ can bounce back
Who u think they should pick as coach
Quin Snyder may be solid
"LeBron James' body is breaking down from the standpoint of being able to play a full season; he is not immune to the ravages of time and mileage, and he is now experiencing what previously befell Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and every other great player who tried to sustain heavy minutes/heavy production past the age of 35."
--> please explain w reference to Kareem (e.g., played 78-80 games per year from ages 36-40 and 74 games at age 41 with good productivity; at age 39 avg > 31 MPG over 78 games) and, to a lesser extent, Duncan (esp ages 36-38)
--J
Anonymous:
When did I say that this season enhanced LeBron's legacy? I said that it will be portrayed that way by LeBron's media friends and that LeBron is trying to frame the narrative that way--but I do not think that this season does or should enhance LeBron's legacy.
I did not say that LeBron does not care about winning championships. I said that LeBron is not wired like Kobe was. LeBron wants to win, but he wants to win his way, and if he thinks that he can't win his way then he starts focusing on the narrative (or the next team for which he wants to play). I have documented this throughout his career, and the detailed articles about this can be found on this website.
There is a big difference between wanting to win, and doing what it is necessary to do to win. I know this firsthand from my own competitive endeavors, and I know it from watching the best NBA players up close for many years (and from a distance even longer than that). Most people want to win--but how many people will play hurt, or get back on defense every time, or sacrifice individual statistics to further team goals?
I hate that it sounds like I am denigrating LeBron. LeBron is an all-time great player. He is capable of playing at a level that no other player his age has matched. However, I also hate the narrative that the only two players in the greatest player of all-time conversation are Jordan and James, and I hate the way that media lapdogs race to paint over any flaw in James' play or conduct.
Anonymous:
I laughed when I read your comment alleging that I am on some sort of "crusade."
I am just analyzing the sport as I see it, based on years of experience and study, and I am also analyzing media coverage, based on years of experience and study. Historically, when a team underachieves on a massive scale, the people who put the team together and the team's best player are the ones who are held most accountable for that failure. Here, LeBron James is the GM/Coach/Captain of one of the most disappointing teams in league history--and many media members are on a "crusade," to borrow a word, to prove that the third option on the team is not just the primary but the sole reason for everything bad that happened. Any analysis of the Lakers' 2020 failures starts with Lebron the GM, then moves to LeBron the older player who can no longer survive the rigors of a whole season without missing a substantial number of games, and then moves to LeBron who is more focused on the regular season career scoring record than on winning games. After that analysis, then we can talk about Anthony Davis' inability to stay healthy, and his indifferent play when he is healthy. Then, we can talk about Frank Vogel's odd rotations. We can note that Westbrook was not able to singlehandedly rescue this mess, but that in a trying season during which he received unwarranted criticism he maintained his career per minute norms in most key statistical categories. We can also note, as you correctly mentioned, that the Lakers traded away much of the their depth and several players who are positive defenders.
Marcel:
It could be argued, all things considered, that this was one of the worst seasons in Lakers history: a team led by a player who is routinely called the greatest player of all-time that also has two other 75th Anniversary Team members plus future Hall of Famers Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony could not even crack the top 10 in a 15 team Western Conference.
I disagree that Vogel is a terrible coach, but I would say that he did not have a great season. It is true that his options were limited due to roster construction and injuries, but he made some odd choices as well.
Westbrook was demonstrably not bad this year. In many seasons, a player who averages 18-7-7 makes the All-Star team. I am not saying that he should have made the All-Star team this season, but he was far from bad--and, unlike his two other superstar teammates, he showed up for work every day, and he played hard every day. If LeBron and Davis approached their craft that way, this team would not have been this bad.
Vogel has not been fired--yet--but it seems a foregone conclusion that he will be fired. Snyder still coaches the Jazz, so he is not an option unless something changes. The reality is that the Lakers' next coach will most likely be whoever LeBron wants.
J:
The key phrase is "tried to sustain heavy minutes/heavy production." I did not assert that no great player has played well past the age of 35; I asserted that it has proven to be difficult for great players to combine heavy minutes and heavy production.
Let's consider the examples you cited:
Kareem ages 36-40: During his prime, he routinely played 38+ mpg, and often more than 40 mpg, while scoring 25-30+ ppg. He last averaged 35 mpg in his age 34 season. He last averaged 25 ppg in his age 33 season. Yes, he was still an All-NBA player--and even a Finals MVP--past his 35th birthday, but he averaged less than 18 ppg in each of his last three seasons. I don't think that the way I phrased my comment is an unfair characterization of Kareem's late career production, particularly since in previous articles I singled him out as perhaps the greatest "old" player of all-time (if "old" is defined as 35-plus).
Duncan, ages 36-38: Duncan was a 30 mpg player during those seasons, compared to being a 39-40 mpg player during his best years. His last 20 ppg season was the year he turned 30. His last 10 rpg season was the year he turned 33. He--and other older Spurs--often utilized "load management." Duncan is hardly an example of sustaining heavy minutes and heavy production at an advanced age.
All of that being said, it should be emphasized that "old" Kareem and "old" Duncan were much more focused on team goals and team success than "old" LeBron was in 2021-2022.
>It could be argued, all things considered, that this was one of the worst seasons in Lakers history
It's more than that, if one takes a broader view of the situation, the last ten Lakers seasons have produced two first-round playoff exits (and the first of them was essentially the equivalent of not making the playoffs at all, as that is when Kobe got hurt -- they had zero chances of making it past that first round after that happened), one giant-asterisk championship and seven times not making the playoffs at all.
Yes, that championship remains on the books, but more likely than not it would have been a second-round exit at most under normal circumstances, and indeed, that is the normal state to which things returned to the following seasons.
What does missing the playoffs seven times in ten years mean in the historical context? Well, the Lakers had only missed the playoffs a total of five times prior to that, and only once in consecutive seasons way back in the mid-1970s. And got out of the West and made the finals nearly every other year in their previous 64 years of existence.
So this is a dramatic fall from grace for the franchise that goes way beyond the fiasco of the current season.
All the Hollywood drama surrounding LeBron and the team full of former All-Star players is masking that to a great extent, but those are the facts.
In retrospect they may well have been much better off staying as far away from LeBron as possible, but non-basketball considerations likely prevailed.
@anonymous
"In retrospect they may well have been much better off staying as far away from LeBron as possible, but non-basketball considerations likely prevailed."
This. Exactly. Been a Laker fan my entire life. Grew up watching Magic/Kareem. Fell in love with the NBA during the fun Lakeshow era. Solidified my passion during the Kobe/Shaq era. Was at the height of full investment in the Lakers during the Kobe/Pau era. Continued to love the team we were building (Randle, BI, Lonzo) even as we struggled.
I hated the signing of Lebron. Wanted to give him a chance, but despised how he threw the kids under the bus during his first 3 months in purple and gold. Those kiddos were shipped out that same summer for a glass cannon.
Found myself actively rooting against the Lebrons during the 2020 bubble run. (That one title was not worth it as you note, the fall from grace will easily extend into a decade and a half as we try to again rebuild).
After this season, and the scapegoating and crucifixion of an LA native by the team's "leader", owners, GM and fans -- my Lakers fandom has turned into shame and disgust.
I've watched more than my share of Lakers game this year. Their offense was actually decent, but I never got the feeling they were actually winning the game. They hardly got any separation - which is obvious given their poor defense.
Last I checked they were 22nd in DRTG, but that is misleading given how they started the season. Since mid-December they had been a bottom 5 defensive team in the league.
Bottom line: They were an old team, and undersized at almost every position. Small ball works only if you have young legs to compensate for it with excellent effort. Screwing up their offseason and Davis' injury woes doomed their season.
That said.
Russell Westbrook for all his talent ended up being among the league leaders in turnovers (3.8, more than half of his 7.1 apg) last in three point percentage (29.8%), and third last in free throws (66.7%). Odd, because he used to hit 80 to 85% from the line.
Anonymous:
Few teams win championships; in the past 35 years, 11 franchises have won an NBA title. Whether or not the 2020 championship is a "bubble title" or a fluke, it counts as a championship in the record book, and that is a part of LeBron's legacy. It is tough to say that the Lakers should not have signed Davis, in light of Davis playing an indispensable role for the 2020 championship team.
That being said, you are correct that the overall direction of the franchise after Kobe blew out his Achilles has not been good, and there is little reason to believe that the franchise will turn things around any time soon.
Jordan:
LeBron is the most baffling all-time great in pro basketball history, if not in all of sports history. He has played for three franchises, and won at least one championship with each of those franchises; he has also quit during multiple playoff series, he has left franchises on bad terms at least twice (Cleveland the first time, plus Miami), and he has influenced his teams to sign players represented by the player agency he founded even if those signings are not the best options for his teams. He is a marvelous passer, yet he often plays in a selfish way that is not optimal for team success.
I don't know how long it will take the Lakers to fix a dysfunctional franchise that was dysfunctional before LeBron arrived (as noted by Anonymous), but it is a bit extreme to say that the 2020 championship was not worth it because it held the franchise back for a decade and a half; that is a completely unsupported assertion, because there is no way to know what will happen in the next 15 years. A well-run franchise can go from the basement to championship contention in three to four years, so if the Lakers have the right ownership, right management, and right coach they could be very good very soon. Also, it is difficult to win even one championship, so it is presumptuous to say that the 2020 championship was not worth it, let alone to imply that the Lakers would have won a title eventually with the young players who were traded away: I have yet to see any of those players emerge as dominant individual stars, let alone as leading players on championship contending teams, and there is little reason to believe that any of those players have that type of potential. I don't like the way that Davis quit on the Pelicans, or the way that LeBron is always trying to build super teams, but the Lakers would have been foolish to not pair LeBron with Davis when the opportunity presented itself. After the Lakers signed LeBron, they had to be in win now (or very soon) mode, and they were much more likely to win now (or soon) with Davis than with the players they gave up to get Davis--and, I would argue, the Lakers were more likely to win a title with LeBron and Davis than they were to win a title in the next 10 years if they had just stood pat with LeBron and the young players, because that team would not have won with LeBron, and would not have won after LeBron retired (unless the Lakers somehow obtained another MVP-caliber player).
As a fan, you can root for whoever you want and whatever outcomes you want, but I have never understood the concept of rooting against my own team (unless my team was doing something against the rules or against the law).
Awet:
The 2022 Lakers rank 11th in scoring, seventh in field goal percentage, and 27th in turnovers. The 2021 Lakers ranked 22nd in scoring, 12th in field goal percentage, and 28th in turnovers. Westbrook led the 2022 Lakers in total assists by a wide margin, and he played nearly 600 more minutes than any other player. The idea that the Lakers had bad results because Westbrook killed the offense is demonstrably false; the addition of Westbrook improved the team's offense, even though Westbrook's individual scoring numbers suffered.
On the other hand, the 2022 Lakers rank 26th in points allowed and 22nd in defensive field goal percentage, while the 2021 Lakers ranked second in points allowed and eighth in defensive field goal percentage. In short, the Lakers' offense survived just fine despite James and Davis missing a lot of games, but the defense cratered without Davis protecting the paint (and with James essentially giving up on playing defense). The addition of Westbrook did not improve the defense, but he is also not primarily responsible for the team's wretched defense.
Regarding Westbrook's individual numbers, please note that he ranks fifth in total minutes, ninth in total assists, 17th in defensive rebounds (as a point guard!), 26th in total rebounds, and 42nd in total steals.
At the team level, turnovers are bad, but at the individual level no high usage player is going to be turnover free, and most high usage players average at least 3 tpg. This season, Westbrook averaged 3.8 tpg and LeBron averaged 3.5 tpg. Those numbers are not terrible considering their usage. The league's best players are going to commit 3 or 4 tpg as a "price" of being great.
Assist to turnover ratio is probably one of the most overrated statistics, for many reasons. First, assists and turnovers are not an either/or proposition: a player can shoot, dribble, or make a non-assist pass on a possession during which he handles the ball. A player can also contribute to the offense without ever touching the ball by setting screens and/or moving without the ball. Second, assists are perhaps the most subjective of the "major" statistics. Third, many of the greatest players of all-time committed a lot of turnovers. Chris Paul is tremendous at assist to turnover ratio, and he has made it to the Finals once in nearly two decades (and he is not his team's best player--Devin Booker is). I would take Isiah Thomas and his 9.3/3.8 career assist to turnover ratio over Paul and his 9.5/2.3 career assist to turnover ratio all day every day. Thomas' clutch scoring and his durability during his prime playoff years more than make up for that "extra" one turnover per game. I have found that the people who rely too much on "advanced basketball statistics" and just counting individual possession outcomes without taking a broader view of the game typically have no understanding of what it takes to win championships (I am not saying that you put that much stock in assist/turnover ratio, but you mentioned it so my response is to explain why it doesn't mean that much).
Westbrook's free throw struggles are baffling. He has gone from routinely shooting well over .800 to shooting worse than .700 in three of the past four seasons. Off the top of my head, Tim Duncan is the only great player I can think of whose free throw percentages bounced around so erratically (to be clear, there have been players who improved from the .600s to the .800s, but it is rare for a player to revert from .800s to .600s).
Regarding the concept of rooting against one's team I understand it if someone rooted for a team for a long time and a current version of the team was simply too unlikable to support. I suppose one could argue that they should stop being a fan of the team, but when one has been rooting for that team for so long it is difficult to just simply move to a different team
I understand where Jordan is coming from, makes perfect sense
Thomas:
Historically, the Lakers have generally built their championship teams by luring stars away from other teams: Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, even Kobe Bryant (who was drafted by Charlotte and then traded to the Lakers). How are the acquisitions of LeBron James and Anthony Davis different than the way that the Lakers have operated since at least the late 1960s?
I have criticized many things LeBron James has said and done, but I am mystified by the concept that the acquisitions of James and Davis were so offensive to some Laker fans that these fans would have preferred to see the Lakers lose games than win the 2020 championship. That makes no sense. It is even more mystifying to suggest that the Lakers were more likely to win a title if they had kept Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and whoever else Laker fans have inexplicably idolized. First, show me the highlights of any of those guys leading a team on a deep playoff run, and then maybe I will understand the sense of loss Laker fans are expressing--but if that footage ever exists (it doesn't now, obviously) it will happen after James retires, which means that the acquisition of James would have been a waste in terms of winning titles. Only LeBron James knows what his motives are, but the Lakers signed him to try to win championships--and they won a championship with an aging James paired with an in his prime Davis, just like the Heat won a title pairing an aging O'Neal with an in his prime Dwyane Wade.
>How are the acquisitions of LeBron James and Anthony Davis different than the way that the Lakers have operated since at least the late 1960s?
The difference is that from the start there was a very strong suspicion LeBron is going to LA not so much to play winning basketball but to pursue other goals, and that there was a large body of evidence regarding what he does to the teams he joins.
Anthony Davis is a different story -- on paper that was a very good move -- although there were big question marks there too, but, as you have commented on countless occasions, whoever you put on the same team with LeBron will no longer be what he was on his own previously/elsewhere.
Now it's true that previous signings were gambles too. People have forgotten, but even Shaq's signing had some question marks attached to it, because of his goofy and not exactly serious attitude, but he was so good, plus Kobe was signed at the same time too, that things worked out quite well eventually (though not immediately and only once Kobe grew sufficiently, which is telling about how much of a gamble that actually was -- without Kobe that signing probably does not work, and we all know how Kobe's signing itself was genius only in retrospect; at the time nobody knew he will be a top-10 ever players).
On the other hand Dwight Howard wasn't that good while having many of the same issues, and we know what happened.
I'm not old enough to have been around back then, but I don't think there were any question marks about Kareem.
So a move in the mold of what the Lakers did in the past would have been to try to lure Giannis away from Milwaukee. That would have brought back the winning culture, no question marks attached at all -- the body of work has been there for all to see for a long time. Whether he would have wanted to move is a different question, of course.
As I mentioned in a previous thread, throughout the years, even though there was never any escaping the fact that they were right next to Hollywood, and that there was often drama of various kinds around the team, the Lakers were a very serious organization. It was not a real Hollywood affair, i.e. more focused on appearances and superficiality than substance. You don't get to more finals than anyone else over a period of 65 years without doing things right.
With LeBron coming that might have changed irreversibly -- now the whole operation carries exactly those degenerative traits, and it was especially disastrous coming after those shameful six seasons prior to it because in the end it will have dug the organization deeper into the hole, not out of it. If they had been a solid playoff team prior to LeBron coming, I would not be writing these words -- by all means, get LeBron, win the title, then rebuild.
But it wasn't, and now they will be left with another team completely cannibalized by LeBron with not future for years, one that will take a very long time to regenerate. And their standing in the NBA hierarchy will take a real hit as a result.
People also forget that the Celtics have only won one title in 35 years, and truly sucked for much of that time. The result is that while still one of the two most storied franchises in the league, their status is simply not what it was in the 1980s,. It's just that it has been so long since that time that people are not even aware anymore what their status was back then.
And that's a vicious loop as once you lose that status, it becomes hard to lure star players away from other teams. The Celtics have had hard time with that, and then there are the Knicks as the poster child for how being in a desirable big marker will not save you from internal dysfunction.
Lakers run the risk of the same happening to them if they don't turn it around by building a proper solid team that can stay together for a long time ASAP.
And I am not necessarily a Lakers fan, nor do I claim that this is good or bad, I am just observing from the sidelines.
@David, I'm not criticizing the acquisition of James. Though never a fan (smiling faces...Not 1, not 2, not 3...tatooing the Chosen1 on his back) I was simply wary of what James has done to his team at every other stop on his mercenary tour. Yes, he won championships! No doubt. But, he was also in his prime.
With him entering his twilight, my fear of him tearing down the entire club and building it in his image -- only to be unable to carry the squad as he had before -- has been realized. As Anonymous stated, without the Bubble and midseason stoppage of play, the Lakers probably lose in the second round instead of win the championship. If that was the case, his Laker tenure would be an unmitigated disaster.
Yes, the Lakers have generally built by trading for stars, but they always had a thread of continuity with homegrown drafted players. Chamberlain joined homegrown drafts West/Baylor. Magic and Worthy were Lakers draft picks. Yes, Kobe was technically traded for, but it was on draft night. So, for all intents and purposes, he was a homegrown draft pick. And, while he's not an all timer, Fisher was also a Lakers pick.
My main issue is trading half the team for a brittle Anthony Davis, a season before he became a free agent. I'm not idolizing any player. Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Jordan Clarkson, and Ivica Zubac are certainly not MVP-caliber players (though, I believe Ingram is all-star level), but they have all proven to be good players. Surround Lebron with that squad, they'd have a much better chance of sustained excellence. But, Lebron never worked with them, never gave them a chance. He threw them under the bus, while he sat out injured.
Look at all of the top teams in the NBA now. All of them are deep. The Suns, Warriors, Bucks, Heat, Grizzlies, etc. are all deep teams with promising youth (and homegrown/drafted talent). Which is why they can continue to play well even if and when their stars sit. They have team cultures and team identities that they can all fall back on when any player is out. There is none of that for the Lakers as there has been zero continuity. The Lakers have no identity without James as the team has been built around him. That's why you have the young guys on the team talking about playing scared of the vets (Lebron). You have the old guys, who have never done the dirty work, unable to learn how to do the dirty work. You have Westbrook now not being able to trust anyone. I wouldn't either.
The Lakers traded all of their youth (save Kuzma) to get a guy who averages 60 games a season (and, he's been even worse than that lol). They doubled down on this tactic to get Westbrook. Well, it turns out, you need more than 3 players to win an NBA game, let alone a championship. Especially when 2 of the 3 players miss a combined 70 games!
It's not like AD was a paragon of health prior to coming to the Lakers. The guy has been soft. He was labeled soft coming out of college. He did nothing as the alpha on the Pelicans. Putting AD in the same breath as Chamberlain, Kareem, and Shaq really degrades your argument in my opinion. AD isn't an all-timer, let alone a pantheon level player. The only reason he was put on the top 75 team is because of Lebron and being on the Lakers. If AD was still on the Pelicans -- he's Karl Anthony Towns.
@Thomas, you are correct. The Lakers came together in the most mercenary of ways, while their finals opposition (Miami Heat) truly exemplified working hard, comradery, discipline, and pure effort. Those guys truly loved each other and it showed.
It was difficult for me to not appreciate, respect, and even root for them. I still was a fan of the Lakers as that team really came together too. But, I guess as I get older, my fandom has morphed into being a fan of the NBA. All of this player movement has facilitated this as well. At this point in time, no one on the Lakers currently is guaranteed to be back next season. So, who am I rooting for? lol.
Anonymous:
I had the same suspicion about James when he joined the Lakers, but the reality is that--at least for one shortened season--he played with a championship mindset and he delivered a championship.
I disagree with the idea that the Lakers should have only signed LeBron if they already had a championship mindset in place. They signed LeBron to bring that mindset, along with his considerable basketball talents.
If the Lakers had discarded bona fide stars to sign LeBron and Davis then I could see your point, but the Lakers discarded guys who, at best, seem likely to peak as All-Stars. None of the players who the Lakers discarded have done much of note other than scoring a lot of points for teams that are mediocre or worse. You may be right that LeBron treats his teammates with disdain and throws them under the bus--I have made similar points about him--but that does not mean that the guys the Lakers let go are future Hall of Famers. I heard similar things during Kobe's final years: "Kobe's contract and his FGAs are hindering the ability to sign young players and to develop the young players we already have." Go back and look at the rosters Kobe played with during his final few seasons, and tell me which great players were being held back by Kobe. After Kobe, the next five leading scorers on the 2016 Lakers were Jordan Clarkson, Lou Williams, D'Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, and Nick Young. Randle has since had one breakout season with the Knicks (and he has credited Kobe for helping him develop his game) before regressing this season. Williams was a 29 year old vet in 2016. Please let me know when Russell and Clarkson play major roles for winning teams. Yes, Clarkson won the Sixth Man Award last season, but he actually played fewer mpg than he did when he played with Kobe, so it is hard to say that season held him back.
The Lakers ran off Phil Jackson twice, they squandered Kobe's later years, and they were a non-playoff team for three straight years after Kobe retired until they signed LeBron.
Signing LeBron does not set an organization back for "a decade and a half" unless the organization is already adrift. The Heat have been more than fine after LeBron left.
The deeper problem for Laker fans is the organization's dysfunction. If I were a Laker fan, I would feel grateful that LeBron won a title with the Lakers, because signing LeBron is one of the few positive things that the franchise has done in the past 10 years.
As for the Celtics, they tragically had two young players die: All-Star Reggie Lewis, and projected All-Star Len Bias. If those players had lived, the Celtics may not have been so bad for so long. In any case, I do not see a parallel from anything that happened in Boston from 1986 to 2008 that provides meaningful guidance for today's Lakers. I am pretty sure that if the Celtics could have signed LeBron (or any other Pantheon-level player) during that time then they would have done so without worrying about the next 15 years after that player leaves or retires.
I would be disappointed if my favorite team signed a star who I thought would never lead the team to a title (hello, James Harden), or if my team traded a proven star for an unproven star, but I would not be disappointed if my team signed a three-time champion who then led my team to a championship. Fans are free to root for whoever they want to root for, and I am not trying to persuade anyone about who to root for, but I am just expressing my bafflement at Laker fans who say they root against the Lakers because the Lakers signed LeBron and AD.
Jordan:
Do you really think that the Lakers would be serious title contenders this season with a top six player rotation of LeBron, Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Jordan Clarkson, and Ivica Zubac? I'm not even sure that team makes the playoffs. LeBron has played 56 games this season, Ingram has played 55 games for a sub-.500 New Orleans team, Lonzo Ball has played 35 games (and has never played more than 63 games in a season), Josh Hart has played 54 games for two teams this season, Jordan Clarkson is the third leading scorer for a Utah team that is fifth in the West, and Ivica Zubac has played 74 games as a solid starter for the Clippers. How many games do you honestly think that team, with those games-played numbers, would win if they were all Lakers now? I can't see that team winning more than 35-40 games.
Maybe as a fan there is something more aesthetically pleasing to you about watching that group miss the playoffs than watching this year's Lakers miss the playoffs, but if the Lakers had not signed Davis and rolled the dice with that group I see zero championships and some struggles to even make the playoffs on a year to year basis (fully healthy, sure, but when have all of those guys been fully healthy recently?).
You are familiar enough with my work than to know better than to accuse me of putting Davis "in the same breath" with all-time greats. He is not on my 75th Anniversary Team, and I have been critical of both his lack of durability and his lack of drive. That being said, it was a very Laker thing to do to move heaven and earth to sign a perennial All-Star away from another team to win a title, because that is how the Lakers have won every single title in franchise history since Mikan retired. The Lakers have never won a title with primarily "home grown" star players. The L.A. Lakers (discounting Mikan's Minneapolis crew for this conversation) would own zero titles without Chamberlain, Kareem, Shaq, Gasol (or some other All-Star added to complement Kobe), LeBron/AD. The problem for the Lakers from the time that Gasol lost interest/Kobe got hurt until now is that LeBron and AD are the only stars who wanted to join the Lakers, which is different from how things used to be.
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