The Los Angeles Lakers have had a tumultuous after having championship aspirations coming into the season. There were several reasons as to why the Lakers season did not go the way they wanted to. I will lay out the 3 biggest reasons in my opinion why the Lakers season is considered a failure and also will give suggestions on how it can be fixed next year to give the Lakers a chance to compete next season.
1. Aging rosters and Defense
The Lakers had the oldest roster in the league this year with an average age of 30. With an aging roster it made it difficult for them to keep up with many of the younger and athletic teams in the league who liked to get up and down. In addition the teams defense suffered as well with many players individually being picked on during crucial possessions in games. Their defensive efficiency rating was 27th in the NBA making them one of the worst defenses in the league. This is just one of the problems the Lakers had this season.
2. Roster Fit
The biggest issue for the Lakers was the roster construction. Even though many people will point out Russell Westbrook being the main example of the teams roster construction issues while this may be true he was not the only one. If you look at the additions of Carmelo Anthony and Trevor Ariza these were not good fits either as they exposed on defense as well. So on any given instance you had at least 3 players on the floor that were defensive liabilities not just individually but also many of these players did not help with team defense. The Lakers must address this issue in the off-season. Will be interesting to see what they do as they are limited due to Russell Westbrook's high salary making it hard for him to likely be traded.
3. Injuries
Lastly, the biggest issue for me was injuries. The Lakers roster due to it being top heavy they needed to stay relatively injury free in order for them to get the most out of their roster. Both Lebron and Anthony Davis missed extended periods of time during the season which derailed their season. Players acquired in free agency also missed time on the injury list including Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington and Kendrick Nunn. Kendrick Nunn missed the entire season.
The way I would fix the Lakers would be to get some younger pieces by possibly trading Westbrook to a small market team that wants relevance such as the Indiana Pacers. This way the Lakers can get back some shooters and playmakers and it won’t be all on Lebron to create for everyone on the team and get his own shot. In addition, get Anthony Davis to take part in workouts that can help him possibly with injury prevention as he has a very extensive injury history. The Lakers will be back next season. Lebron tweeted he will not miss the playoffs ever again!!!
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