Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons why LA has been a bust this season

The struggling Los Angeles Lakers, reason No. 1: Aging roster

Coming into the season, the Los Angeles Lakers filled their roster with experienced veterans, hoping they would have enough in the tank. Names such as Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard, and Rajon Rondo, among others, all hold rotational spots in a team hoping to contend in the year 2022.

On paper, a team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis should be able to succeed despite their supporting cast. However, this complementary of players is asking a bit too much from them. On the whole, the Lakers have four rotational players under the age of 30, with Davis being one of them.

The team is relying on old legs to carry them through an 82-game season, to no avail. All of these players have been successful parts of winning teams in years past, but they are almost all past their prime, not able to keep up with the opposition’s quickness on the defensive end. They get outhustled on both ends of the floor on a nightly basis, unwilling to go for loose balls or difficult defensive rebounds.

Ultimately, they don’t have players on their roster that have the same hunger or drive on a nightly basis, leading to regular unenthusiastic showings by the NBA champions just two years ago. They need someone to bring a spark into their offense, as Talen Horton-Tucker is being asked to do far too much this early in his career.

Even going back to the Lakers’ most recent championship roster, they had players such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso to do the little things on the court. They were worthy cogs in the machine, keeping the offense flowing while playing above-average perimeter defense. Fast forward to this year, and the Lakeshow’s asking a 37-year-old Carmelo Anthony and 36-year-old Trevor Ariza to do the same.

That is not a recipe for success.