Los Angeles Lakers: Have The Fuel For 2014-15, But No Fire

Recently, new Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott said his team being underdogs this upcoming season will add “fuel to fire” as they begin the journey back to NBA relevancy.

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There’s only one problem with that, though. The Lakers don’t have anything to add fuel to. Los Angeles, after a woeful 2013-14 season, doesn’t have the means necessary to carry any type of fire this season.

In order to add fuel to any fire, there needs to be a fire in the first place — or at the very least, a spark. The Lakes, unfortunately, don’t have any of that.

Let’s take a look at what exactly the Los Angeles Lakers will look like this season.

This is the current Lakers depth chart:

Point Guard: Steve Nash, Jeremy Lin, Jordan Clarkson

Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant, Wayne Ellington, Xavier Henry

Small Forward: Nick Young, Wesley Johnson

Power Forward: Carlos Boozer, Julius Randle, Ed Davis, Ryan Kelly

Center: Jordan Hill, Robert Sacre

In the Lakers defense, health is going to be the No. 1 factor in determining their season. If Nash and Kobe are healthy for the majority of the season, this is clearly a different team. If they’re not, they’re going to be just as bad as last season.

However, we can’t simply assume that the Lakers are going to be healthy. Nash has played 60 games in any season since 2011, and only played 15 games last season. I can’t assume that he’s suddenly going to finish the season healthy. That’s unlikely.

“I love the fact that pretty much everyone has written us off. That’s obviously fuel to the fire.” — Lakers coach Byron Scott

While Kobe has a fairly clean history when it comes to injuries, playing in essentially at least 60 games from 1999-2011, he has suffered back-to-back severe injuries that have cost him about 16 months of basketball. I also have no idea what to expect from him.

So, after that, what do the Lakers have left?

A Jeremy Lin player who, while will be playing with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, is not a starting point guard in this league, much less on a playoff team; Carlos Boozer, who is not the Carlos Boozer that excelled at pick-and-rolls with Deron Williams in Utah; Nick Young, who is closer to J.R. Smith than he is to being a contributing starter in this league; Julius Randle, an unproven rookie who could be viewed as undersized depending on who you talk to; and Jordan Hill, who has been on three different teams in his four years in the league.

None of those players actually scream “fire.”

Oh yea, and the Lakers also have a plethora of other “fill-ins” to round out their roster.

If Kobe comes back at even 75 percent of what we’ve come to know from Kobe, it still won’t be enough to push this team into the playoff race. The 2014-15 Lakers, as currently constructed, simply don’t have enough to compete for a playoffs spot. Much less in the greatly competitive Western Conference.

This team just has a very stale taste to it. Kobe is no longer the Kobe Bryant that many of us grew up watch and, for some, idolizing. This team is no longer being coached by Phil Jackson, and no longer has an identity.

There is no reliable supporting cast and, right now, I can’t confidently say that I know who the best player on this roster is.

I have no idea what this team is going to look like in April, or May.

One thing I do know, though, is that they won’t be fire for the Lakers at any point this season. Someone may get fired, but there will be no fire.