The Los Angeles Lakers have been told that they might have one of the worst rosters in the entire NBA after last night's loss to the Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers were second best throughout Tuesday night's season opener against Steph Curry and company in what has to be a worrying sign for the season to come after last year. The Lakers won just 33 games last year and did very little to improve their roster this off-season, largely sticking with the same group of players.
Russell Westbrook was the big addition last year, with the former MVP and nine time all-star being traded for with five reliable starters joining the Washington Wizards in his place. Since joining, Westbrook has struggled to make anywhere close to the impact that he had done in previously throughout his career, whilst other Lakers teammates have failed to step-up in important situations.
Many analysts were worried for the Lakers chances heading into the season, and after seeing just one game, those doubts are already looking legitimate. Speaking on Bill Simmons' podcast, he and NBA insider Kevin O'Connor discussed just how bad the situation is for the team in purple and gold.
O'Connor said: "The Lakers at best are the 10 seed (outside of the playoffs)... at best. The Lakers need shooters and wings, and they have none of that. They were terrible until that fourth quarter - they are starting three point guards. Their front office needs to be questioned."
Simmons then responded: "Yeah, they're like a fringe play-in team. I was stunned watching them - it felt like a team who were missing key players but then you're like, no, this is their full team. There is no help on the horizon. I think they have one of worst rosters in the league. You can argue their third best player to their 10th is the worse collection of players in the league."
The Lakers shocking finished 11th last season, the second time in four years that LeBron has missed the playoffs with the team since he joined in 2018.
For James himself, though, this year will almost certainly go down as a historic one as he closes in on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record as the NBA's all-time leading scorer list.
At this current rate, James will overtake the Lakers legend atop of the list by mid-season should he stay healthy... and that might the best he can hope for unless his team are able to pull off a trade to improve their roster.
