The Lakers are 25 games into their season and sit just one contest below the .500 mark. Kobe Bryant, the face of their franchise, started out the year sidelined, recovering from a torn Achilles. Upon his return, he played in just 6 games before going down with another season ending injury. The team was just 2-4 with him in the lineup, but his recent injury has still caused a great deal of panic in Los Angeles. Sam Amick of USA Today went so far as to write that the club’s entire future is in jeopardy as a result of the future Hall of Famer going down.
It doesn’t help that fellow guards Steve Nash, Steve Blake, and Jordan Farmar have had their own share of injury woes. Nash is at least a month away from returning. Blake will be sidelined a minimum of six more weeks. Farmar is set to return soon, but the team still felt it was necessary to add some backcourt depth, so tonight they agreed to terms with former lottery pick Kendall Marshall.
So the question: how many games will the Lakers end up winning this year? It’s true that they’re lacking depth right now, but it might be too early to completely give up on the season. Xavier Henry, Jordan Hill, Wesley Johnson, and Nick Young have all played surprisingly well, although you won’t find many people who believe those four along with Pau Gasol can lead a team to the playoffs. The Lakers have managed to play close to .500 basketball without much star power, but can they continue to succeed without Bryant?
Let’s hear your thoughts. Vote in the poll below, and leave a comment to share your thoughts!
Before the season, I had them possibly winning 42 games and still being the 12th seed in the West. With or without Kobe, they werent making the playoffs. They just got really lucky IMO. We all talked about how they would never be able to justify “tanking” to their fans, especially if Kobe was on the court, but with this injury, they could get away with trading pieces like Gasol, or even moving forward with what they had and losing a few extra games. The East is so bad this year, that the good teams in the West that miss the playoffs are going to benefit and be in the lottery, while a lot of really bad teams will make the playoffs in the east and wont be in the lottery. This is an opportunity for the Lakers to get a good draft pick in 2014