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Danny Murphy Jr.

NBA: Did the Lakers championship window officially close?


The Los Angeles Lakers currently sit at 16-17 and 6th place in the Western Conference despite having one of the easiest schedules to start of the campaign. In doing so, Los Angeles hasn't been able to capitalize on the lackluster teams they’ve played this year. The Lakers have consistently struggled with teams above .500 this season including losses to the Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, and Chicago Bulls just to name a few. However, that’s about to change. The Lakers have the toughest remaining schedule left, playing the Warriors three times, the Suns three times, the Jazz three times, and the Nets twice. LA also has to face the reigning defending NBA champions Milwaukee Bucks once before the season concludes.


On top of their grueling schedule coming up, the Lakers have suffered major injuries throughout the season. With LeBron James in his 19th season, and in and out of the lineup now-a-days, the sole focus has been on Anthony Davis. Davis has underperformed this year compared to the 2019 championship run, when Davis averaged 25 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. Although he's averaging just under 24 points per game this season, the impact he’s having on the game is just not the same as 2019. One of the biggest knocks against Davis has been his availability and toughness. In New Orleans, he missed 108 games due to several injuries. It’s been the same problem with the Lakers. Davis not being on the floor due to injury.


James is not getting any younger, with that he needs someone to take the helm as the best player on the team. That can’t happen if Davis is not on the court. The one staple on the team has been Russell Westbrook. However that isn’t necessarily a good thing if you’re a Lakers fan. Although he is nearly averaging a triple-double with 19 points and eight assists per game, the Westbrook experiment has been a complete disaster thus far. I fully expect a LeBron-led team to figure it out to some capacity but the way Golden State and Phoenix are playing right now, it will not be enough to combat those Western Conference powerhouses. The Lakers don't seem to look formidable if we're talking about winning a championship.


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Photo Credit: 247 Sports.

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