What Losing To The Sixers Says About The Los Angeles Lakers
Tuesday’s loss gave the Philadelphia 76ers their first win in 28 games, but says a lot more about the current state of the Los Angeles Lakers.
It finally happened. The Philadelphia 76ers ended an 0-18 start to their season and a 28-game losing streak dating back to last season by getting a win against the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night, in what will be Kobe Bryant‘s last game in the city where he spent some of his formative years and high school career.
In many ways, this is less about Philadelphia’s desperation for victory being resolved and entirely about how far the Lakers have fallen.
By losing to the Sixers, the Los Angeles Lakers have lost to the only team that was considered to be worse off and more hopeless than they are.
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The Sixers have been moving in an aimless direction for the last five years, drafting three players with the same position three years in a row as well as acquiring multiple mediocre talents in an effort to collect even more draft picks and repeat the same ludicrous process.
They’ve gotten rid of a promising young point guard in Michael Carter-Williams and have traded for veterans way past their prime (Andrew Bynum, JaVale McGee, Carl Landry) just to release them the next offseason.
Their recursive tanking was the only thing keeping the Lakers from being the NBA’s worst team over the last few years. That may not be the case anymore.
For the Lakers, being in that position is much more damning. Keep in mind, the Sixers haven’t been a contender since Allen Iverson‘s MVP season in 2001 and haven’t won a championship since the ’80s. Losing isn’t acceptable for their fans, but due to the lack of competitiveness in recent years, it’s much easier for them to deal with than it is in southern California.
The Lakers’ championship pedigree (17 in total) makes this much more brutal for their fanbase. The franchise has never experienced a significant drought in its history, always finding the next franchise cornerstone within a year or two of losing one. Add in that they’re only five years removed from their last championship and their current condition is all the more puzzling.
What was most disheartening about last night’s game was not just that they lost, but the way they lost. A team full of recycled second round picks and undrafted players played better team basketball than a Lakers team with top 10 rooks and seasoned, established veterans.
If it weren’t for the play of Kobe Bryant, who finished with 20 points and five boards, the game wouldn’t have even been close.
The most notable difference is between the two teams’ young leaders. Even with all his off court issues, Jahlil Okafor has given the Sixers a player they can bank on to provide stable production on a nightly basis.
The Lakers are still looking from that level of reliability from their young core, with virtual rookie Julius Randle and actual rookie D’Angelo Russell still finding their footing and second-year guard Jordan Clarksom being stifled by playing alongside Kobe on the wing.
Tuesday night, this Lakers team officially hit rock bottom. By dropping a loss to a team that has been a laughing stock in the NBA for the last few years for their lack of direction and blatant tanking, the Lakers showed that they too are at the bottom of the barrel in the league and that they may be even more in trouble than this hopeless Sixers team.
Tuesday night was a wake up call to just how bad the Lakers are to anyone that watched the game.
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Let’s hope it wakes the team itself up as well.