Built to win a championship, this year’s Lakers won’t even make playoffs

Russell Westbrook couldn’t determine a technique to constantly mesh together with his new teammates, Anthony Davis couldn’t keep wholesome and a 37-year-old LeBron James couldn’t carry a staff all by himself.

The Los Angeles Lakers made no secret they have been a staff constructed to win a championship this season.

As an alternative, they gained’t even make the playoffs.

In a improvement that few would have seen coming six months in the past, the Lakers have been eradicated from the playoff race on Tuesday evening after a 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Westbrook scored 28 factors, Davis added 21 and James watched from the bench, nursing a sore ankle that saved him out for a second straight sport.

The Lakers fell to 31-48, eleventh place within the Western Convention, and might now not crack the highest 10 to earn a spot within the play-in event.

“It’s nothing greater than we simply didn’t get it achieved,” Lakers ahead Carmelo Anthony mentioned. “We are able to’t make excuses; we simply didn’t get it achieved.”

Well being was a continuing problem this season for the Lakers, who hardly ever had Westbrook, Davis and James on the ground on the similar time. Davis has solely been obtainable for about half the season, lacking time with knee and foot illnesses.

“We had the items however accidents obtained into the way in which of that,” Davis mentioned. “That was the distinction in our season.”

The Lakers and the James-Davis-Westbrook trio might make one other run collectively subsequent season, although it’s unclear in the event that they’ll need to give it one other shot. Davis and James are below contract whereas Westbrook appears prone to train his $47 million participant possibility.

“That’s the plan, however nothing is promised,” mentioned Westbrook, who took an enormous chunk of criticism aimed on the staff. “You’ve sort of obtained to take in the future at a time and also you’ve obtained to pay the playing cards you might be dealt.”

Even a month in the past, it appeared the Lakers had time to determine a technique to regroup, get wholesome and make a run on this yr’s playoffs. James regarded 10 years youthful at instances together with his scoring manufacturing, averaging 30.3 factors for his highest common since 2008.

“I believe the world would like to see, we’d like to see what this staff might might be if we have been wholesome for a full 82,” Davis mentioned.

Westbrook performed exhausting on Tuesday evening, plowing by means of the Suns’ protection time and again in a determined try to make one thing optimistic occur. There have been a couple of massive buckets but additionally a couple of massive turnovers. The inconsistency was all too acquainted.

Lakers coach Frank Vogel mentioned he was “extraordinarily upset” that the season will finish in need of the postseason. The Lakers have misplaced seven straight video games and now should play three extra with no playoffs on the horizon.

Vogel led the Lakers to a championship in 2020 when the playoffs have been performed within the Florida bubble. Now his job safety seems tenuous at greatest.

“I can say it has not been attributable to lack of effort,” the coach mentioned. “We have now all put within the work. Our guys stayed preventing proper until the tip. We introduced integrity to the method. We simply fell quick although a disjointed season.”