The Los Angeles will most likely miss the playoffs this season, which is a shocker. When they signed LeBron James in the offseason, the thought was that Los Angeles would at least make the playoffs, but then, things started to go wrong.
James would miss 17 games with a groin injury. Lonzo Ball went down with an ankle injury, and finally, Kyle Kuzma(ankle) and Brandon Ingram(deep vein thrombosis) have had injuries as well.
On top of injuries, the Anthony Davis trade talks seem to hurt this team, but most people want to blame James. However, according to former NBA player Baron Davis, it’s not all on LeBron.
“You can’t just put all the blame on LeBron,” Davis told TMZ Sports. “I think the Lakers got disconnected from what they was trying to do, what their mission was, and the trades and all that sh**. That sh** don’t bode well for nobody, dog. It’s tough to play for somebody and give your heart and soul to somebody, and your name on the trading block, so when you’re young, it’s hard to bounce back from that sh**.”
Davis does believe that a 34-year-old Kobe Bryant could have led this team to the playoffs, but he does think James could have as well if the Lakers were able to stay healthy.
“LeBron could have got it done, too, but you have to factor in injuries… “It’s hypothetical, but of course, Kobe could do it, it’s f*cking Kobe Bryant.”
The 2012-13 Lakers did have Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, and Pau Gasol. While those guys were not at their best, you could argue that Kobe Bryant had a lot more help than LeBron. Also, like the 2018-19 Lakers, the 2012-13 team had injuries issues as well. Nash played in 50 games that season, while Gasol played only 49 games. Howard had a solid season, but he was struggling to come back from a back injury, and Bryant would eventually go down with a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Unfortunately for Lakers fans, Kobe could not have saved the Lakers this season. He barely got the 2012-13 team to the playoffs. In the end, this is all wishful thinking for Laker fans.
