Los Angeles Lakers: Biggest disappointment in the West this season?

Have the Los Angeles Lakers been the biggest disappointment in the Western Conference this season? 

With less than 10 games remaining in the regular season, this is a natural time to begin to look back at the season that was. Especially for teams that won’t be participating in the postseason. And, for the first time all season long, that became a very real possibility for the Los Angeles Lakers.

And that leads to the question, have the Lakers been the biggest disappointment in the Western Conference this season?

While it’s a difficult question to answer, especially considering that there’s still a postseason stretch that needs to be played out, but at least to now it’s an interesting theory.

For any disappointing team, expectations are something that needs to be considered. Before the season, the Lakers had high expectations. I’m not sure if many really believed that the acquisition of Russell Westbrook would actually be the final piece for the Lakers to get them back to contender status, but with three big names on the roster, I’m not sure their goal was to make the Play-In Tournament.

It couldn’t have been.

Additionally, you have to look at their recent past. The Lakers are just two seasons away from winning the championship. Last season, they held a 2-1 series lead over the Phoenix Suns (who would go on to win the Western Conference) before an Anthony Davis injury completely derailed that series.

Would the Suns have beat the Lakers anyway? Perhaps. But there’s no question that the Lakers had to have thought that they were closer than many others had them projected headed into the season.

Throw in the big offseason acquisition of Westbrook and the fact that their two top players are probably a top 3 duo in the league and they’ve been a huge disappointment.

Considering the team’s personnel, their expectations, and the amount of work they put into this season (through offseason acquisitions and retooling the supporting cast) and there’s no question that the Lakers have been the biggest disappointment in the West this season.

In fact, the only other teams in the West that have been glaringly disappointing are the Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Pelicans. But the Blazers have been without Damian Lillard for much of the season and the same for the Pelicans without Zion Williamson.

Davis is eyeing a return from injury and LeBron has been as good as ever this season. Could this team make a magical run in the Play-In Tournament and then in the postseason? Possibly. But, short of that happening (and it’s not likely), the Lakers will have to head back to the drawing board this offseason.