NBA: How the bottom 7 in the West can make a return to the playoffs
By Ethan Becker
10. Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James and Stability
The Los Angeles Lakers were in the running for the playoffs for nearly half of the year. In fact, this season was arguably the best season for the Lakers since Kobe retired. Possibly the only reason for the Lakers even missing the playoffs was due to LeBron’s extended injury.
We’ve seen in the past that James can get just about any team to the playoffs, it’s just that he wasn’t around for long enough to be able to do that this year. There’s a lot of potential there too. The Lakers were in or near the top 10 teams in the league in field goal percentage, total rebounds, assists, and steals. The only stats that they found themselves in the bottom half of the league in are 3 point percentage (29th) and points per game (16th).
Throughout the Lakers’ last few years, it has seemed like their stability and their team chemistry have been one of the worst in the league, and with the recent release of head coach Luke Walton and the departure of President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson, that problem doesn’t look like it’s going to right itself anytime soon.
The Lakers are in desperate need of a safe home, and right now, it doesn’t seem like they have that. Even with LeBron.