Los Angeles Lakers: Will LeBron’s first year be viewed as a failure?

As LeBron James’ first year with the Los Angeles Lakers comes to an end, will it be looked back as a failure?

Short of a historical collapse on the part of the Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz or San Antonio Spurs, and an unforeseen win tear from the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James is set to miss the post-season for the first time since the 2004-05 season, his sophomore season in the NBA.

LeBron’s eight-straight NBA Finals appearance streak is also set to snap. However, that was almost expected as soon as he decided to join the same conference as the Golden State Warriors. Missing the playoffs, though, was not expected.

Even though not many thought that the Lakers, under LeBron in year one, would break through in the West to make it through the Warriors, many did expect the Lakers to, at the very least, make the playoffs.

Question is, with the assumption that the Lakers will miss the playoffs this season, will this season go down as a failure for the Lakers and LeBron?

It won’t be easy to answer this question, and in order to do so there are few areas where we need to revisit with this team, which includes: pre-season expectations, the roster and in-season occurrences.

As we begin to break it all down for the Lakers, let’s take a look back at this team and the expectations that they were carrying into the year.