Hindsight is always 20/20 but, sometimes, foresight can be spot on, too.
It was very clear from the moment the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook that there would be some flaws with this team. Lots of people pointed them out at the beginning of the season.
They fielded the oldest roster in NBA history. They didn’t have enough shooting. There weren’t enough credible defenders on the roster. All of these questions were there. Particularly after they went 0-5 early on in the preseason.
Now, the preseason is no indication of how a regular season will go. But the concerns were there. People saw them. People pointed it out.
LeBron James didn’t like it. And he went off with this (since deleted) tweet.
LeBron sees the talk 👀📱 pic.twitter.com/rwAKi7S9rC
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 4, 2021
“Keep talking about my squad, our personnel ages, the way he plays, he stays injured, we’re past our time in this league, etc etc etc. Do me one favor PLEASE!!!! And I mean PLEASE!!! Keep that same narrative ENERGY when it begins! That’s all I ask.“
It should’ve always been a telling sign to all of us that things were not off to a great start when James was already on the “keep that same energy” vibe. That’s never a good thing.
It also turns out that we were right — the Lakers flaws were a bit too big for them to handle.
They were too old, the roster was too flawed and they just couldn’t stay healthy. Now, in not making the playoffs, they’re making the sort of history you don’t ever want to make.
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. pic.twitter.com/UeEDn0haHs
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 6, 2022
Yikes. Better luck next year, LA.
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