The frustrations of some Los Angeles Lakers players and staff members have reportedly led to the belief by some that the team is giving up.
Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times assessed the current mindset of the team and came to the conclusion that the team is lacking motivation for any sort of playoff run.
“Multiple conversations with staff members and players have included the same version of the phrase, ‘at least there’s only a month left’ — not exactly the kind of message you hear from a group with realistic visions of playing until early summer,” Woike wrote.
Entering Friday night’s game against the Washington Wizards, the Lakers have a season record of 28-37 and aren’t even assured of a playoff berth. While they may ultimately get to the postseason, they’re showing no signs that they’ll last long if they reach it.
That’s a far cry from the preseason, where the belief was that the Lakers would be a strong contender to not only win the Western Conference but also win another title.
Back on Jan. 7, the Lakers raised their record to 21-19 after a road win against the Atlanta Hawks. However, the Lakers have dropped 18 of their last 25 games.
Injuries and chemistry issues related to the addition of veteran guard Russell Westbrook are considered to be the chief reasons for the woes of the Lakers.
With 17 games left in the regular season, there’s still time to establish some sort of momentum over the final month of action. Yet, losing to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night seemingly reinforced the idea that the Lakers are in serious trouble.
In their next three games, the Lakers will sandwich a pair of home games around an away contest against the Western Conference-leading Phoenix Suns. After that, seven of their next eight games will take place away from Crypto.com Arena.
Whether or not the Lakers can find the motivation to get to the playoffs is something that will likely be determined in the next few weeks.
