Big names does not always mean big wins
You can have all the talent you want on your team in the NBA, but at the end of the day, chemistry is what wins championships. Right now, the Los Angeles Lakers do not have any chemistry whatsoever and they just look like a team of a bunch of “has-beens” in this league.
Entering this season, the Lakers were picked by many to be the “team to beat” in the entire NBA and this was because of their new “Big 3” in LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. Along with Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, DeAndre Jordan and others, the Lakers came into the year with so much All-Star/championship experience, but it has not shown.
Teams across the league are outhustling them, the Lakers do not look like the same defensive threat they were a season ago, and quite frankly, teams just want to win more than they do. Because of a handful of injuries, the Lakers have not been fully-healthy at all this year and as a result, have not built the same chemistry other successful franchises in this league have.
Los Angeles has plenty of talented players on their roster, most of which will be in the Hall-of-Fame one day, but that does not necessarily mean that they will win every single game. Learning curves are always expected with new teams, but we seemed to be blind to this because of the fact that LeBron James and Anthony Davis were leading this team.
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The Lakers definitely have their work cut out for them this year, especially because LeBron James has missed over half the season due to a variety of injuries and illnesses. In time, this team is going to figure things out and begin looking like the championship contender we thought they were, but is it going to be too late when they do figure things out?
This team is currently 12-11, which is not terrible, but it is also not very good. They are just 3.5 games in front of the Sacramento Kings, who are out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference, and this early in the season, things can change standings-wise very quickly!
Anthony Davis is going to do his thing every night, as is Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and others, but one individual, especially LeBron James, is not going to magically change this team. Their biggest problem right now, besides not having chemistry with one another on the court, is that their defense is terrible.
They rank 15th in the league in defensive rating and some nights, it looks like they are playing pick-up basketball at the park! Whether it is Westbrook or someone else, effort needs to be given on every single defensive possession if this team is to win another championship.
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During the 2019-20 season, the Lakers ranked 3rd in the league in defensive rating and guess what? They went on to win a championship that year.
This was not a coincidence and defense has to be the identity of this Lakers team moving forward. If they cannot figure things out defensively, they are going to wind up losing in the first-round of the playoffs again, assuming they make the playoffs at this rate!
