It was a disappointing end to a disappointing season for the Los Angeles Lakers. Once Anthony Davis got hurt in Game 4 against the Phoenix Suns, it was clear that the team didn’t have enough to beat them. While much of their struggles can be attributed to injuries, there are issues on the roster that need to be addressed.
Heading into the season, it looked like Vice President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka did a solid job constructing the roster. Dennis Schroder, Marc Gasol, Montrezl Harrell and Wes Matthews were supposed upgrades at multiple positions for the Lakers. That didn’t end up being the case for much of the season. Some of the previously mentioned players might return, but it’s likely that not all of them will. Pelinka also has yet to find capable shooters for the roster. Regardless, LeBron James expressed confidence in Pelinka’s ability, and he plans to also be involved with what the Lakers do this offseason.
“I think Rob has done such a great job of constructing this team over the last few years, and he will continue to do that,” LeBron said after the Game 6 loss. “I will have some input. He always asks for my input, asks for AD’s input. But at the end of the day, we want to continue to get better.”
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LeBron Laments Season
The season got off to a great start for the Lakers. They started off 21-6 and looked like the best team in the NBA, but they faltered because of a litany of injuries. In his post-game comments, LeBron was clearly irked with how this season played out.
“The one thing that bothers me more than anything is we never really got an opportunity to see our full team at full strength,” LeBron said. “Either because of injury or COVID or something going on with our ballclub this year, we could never fully get into a rhythm. And never really kind of see the full potential of what we could be capable of.”
LeBron is 36 now and only has so many years left of being a top player.
LeBron Ready to Get Healthy Again
Anthony Davis dealt with the toughest injuries this season for the Lakers, which often overshadowed how badly LeBron was hurt. Even though LeBron wasn’t constantly wincing in pain, it was clear that he wasn’t fully healthy during the series versus the Suns.
LeBron has been fortunate when it comes to injuries over his career, but he’s now dealt with two serious injuries over the past three seasons. There is a silver lining in the season-ending early for Los Angeles: LeBron will now get a very long time to recover in time for next season. He should be in a much better spot.
“It’s going to work wonders for me,” LeBron said. “I get like three months to recalibrate, get my ankle back to 100% where it was. … That’s the most important thing for me.”
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Lakers’ LeBron James Delivers Strong Statement on Rob Pelinka