The Los Angeles Lakers entered the NBA season as one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference, or so they thought. Adding Russell Westbrook to their roster drew contrasting takes around the media, and it hasn't paid off thus far.
Some reports even state that the Lakers are backpedaling and looking to move Westbrook before the deadline. Others believe that Anthony Davis has been the real issue as he's vastly underperformed this season.
Whatever it's the case, the reality is that the Lakers look like a YMCA team right now. There's no offensive or defensive flow whatsoever, and LeBron James credits that to the lack of playing time they've had together.
LeBron James Says Lakers Have No Chemistry
“We have no chemistry with any lineup,” LeBron said, as quoted by ClutchPoints. "From the simple fact that we literally haven’t logged enough minutes. It’s the truth. What is our starting lineup besides me Russ and AD? We don’t know.”
That's 100% on point. Injuries and the COVID-19 health and safety protocols have prevented the Lakers from being at full strength or having a nice stretch of games together, so there's only so much they can do.
David Fizdale Says LeBron Doesn't Want To Leave The Game
As for James, interim coach David Fizdale recently revealed that he never wants to go to the bench, as he knows that the team desperately needs him to turn their terrible start to the season around:
“LeBron don’t give us a choice!” Fizdale told the media. “What you talking ‘bout? LeBron is like ‘put me out there.’ This guy is a freak, man. It’s so cool being with him again.”
“He just kept saying ‘I want to stay in here. I want to stay in here. So, no, I don’t have a concern is the short answer. But again, I’m not here that long (laughs)," the coach added. "That’s easy for me to say as an assistant… The higher-ups and our medical team will obviously have to make those decisions. But the way he prepares himself and the liveliness that he brings to the game, no, I don’t (have a concern).”
The Lakers are sitting at a mediocre 16-17 record and currently hold the sixth seed in the West. But even if they're playoff-bound right now, they look like a first-round exit at best, especially with the Suns, Warriors, and Jazz playing so well.
