NBA: 5 big overreactions at the one-month mark of the season

The Los Angeles Lakers are not a contender

In fairness, before we thrash the Los Angeles Lakers, it should be noted that they haven’t been healthy at all this season. Of their key players, Trevor Ariza, Kendrick Nunn, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis have all missed time due to injury.

That said, there are no excuses as nearly every team has to battle injuries at some point during the season. Don’t want to take my words for it, here are Davis’:

"“We suck,” Davis said. “No defense, can’t score. That’s not this third quarter. Every third quarter that we’ve played this season we come out slow, lackadaisical offensively and defensively. We got to get it together. Why? I can’t tell you. … Championship team? That’s not us right now.”"

The Lakers are ranked 23rd in the league offensively and 15th ranked defensively. They are bad, bad, bad. Maybe LeBron’s return from injury, which could be as soon as later this week, is what jump-starts this team. Maybe not.

Either way, at least through the first month of the season, the Lakers are far from a championship-worthy team.