"It was assembled and predicted to win a championship" - James Worthy reflects on the reality of LA Lakers' trainwreck of a season
On a sad day for LA Lakers fans, Lakers legend James Worthy addressed the disappointment that hung in the air as the Purple and Gold were officially eliminated from the Play-In tournament.
Coming off a 110-121 loss to their rivals the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers lost their seventh consecutive game to see them mathematically clear of reaching the tenth-place San Antonio Spurs to make an appearance in the Play-In games.
In a season filled with ups-and-downs - primarily downs - James Worthy offered his honest opinion on the LA Lakers now that they have been eliminated from the playoffs. He said:
"I think reality is the key word to focus on. Because it is real and unbelievable for people to think that we're not even going to be in the play-in game when this team was assembled over the summer and predicted to win a championship."
He added:
"I don't really have words for this season with the exception of a lot of disarray, injuries, a lot of players having to get used to each other. Never really developed - combine that with the injuries and the different lineups - just never really got your engine to run the way it was supposed to run."
Worthy continued to breakdown the season and the adversities they faced. But he summed up their struggles by saying:
"This was a very disappointing season. Despite all the uphill battles they had still kind of disappointing for the Lakers to not even be able to make the Play-In game. But this is where we find ourselves right now."
"Unbelievable to think this team won't even be in the play-in game when it was assembled and predicted to win a championship." @JamesWorthy42 & the post-game team reflect on the reality that the #Lakers are eliminated from playoff contention. https://t.co/1avepR9miM
With three games left in the regular-season, the 11th-place Lakers will officially miss the playoffs this season. With the future being uncertain, there is little that can be said for what becomes of the Purple and Gold from here on out.
The LA Lakers' struggles this season
The LA Lakers featured one of the most stacked rosters heading into the 2021-22 season. With big-ticket names such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis already in the lineup, the Purple and Gold added the likes of Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Rajon Rondo among others to fill out their star-studded ensemble.
Given the sheer talent pool at their disposal, Lakeshow featured the second-best odds to win the NBA championship.
However, things went south almost instantaneously for the side.
Since preseason title favorites were first announced before the 1984-85 season, the top two teams have never failed to make the playoffs.
The Lakers (no. 2 favorites) are the first team to do so. https://t.co/UeEDn0haHs
With chemistry issues and growing pains being an issue that haunted the side for the entirety of the season, the LA Lakers also had major misfortunes with injury.
Having older veterans on the roster certainly didn't help down the stretch as defensive efforts almost entirely collapsed later on in the season.
In this regard, it isn't possible to sum up the Lakers' struggles this season because there were too many factors involved. Each variable fed off the other and practically exacerbated the issue that this roster was poorly constructed from the start.
With most players being on veteran minimum contracts, there is a lot of uncertainty with regards to what this team will look like next season. However, it is likely that fans will bid goodbye to a lot of familiar faces this offseason.
The Lakers and Frank Vogel are expected to part ways after the season, per B/R’s @JakeLFischer
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