Mateo’s Hoop Diary: End of the Fake Show

I didn’t know it then, but Rajon Rondo pointing a finger gun at a courtside fan foreshadowed the season that had yet come for the Lakers: a total embarrassment. Five and a half months later, with three games left on the calendar, LA was officially extinguished from Play-in contention in their trip to the desert by Devin Booker and co.  Rondo was lucky enough to get shipped out of town in January.

It makes it sweeter that Phoenix was the outfit that derailed LA’s chances of playing in the money grab games, excuse me, Play-in Tournament.  Just over two weeks ago Anthony Davis took a cheap shot responding to a question in a presser when he said that last year’s first-round between the two teams was decided by injury.  “It was… They got away with one,” Davis said. 

It was tone-deaf.  The Lakers must be living in the past if they think they are every bit as powerful as they were on a neutral fielded bubble two seasons ago.  And if they don’t think so privately, it’s worthless to front for the camera.  The painful reality of this group was obvious back in November that it was a poorly constructed roster not built to handle adversity.

Davis even went as far as to say the team had more starting lineups than wins.  He wasn’t lying. The Brittle Brothers (Davis, James) couldn’t stay on the court for more than 21 games next to Russell Westbrook, but the excuse is “soft like Charmin,” as Kobe Bryant once said.

Some media members, factions of fans, and according to the streets, degenerate gamblers everywhere held out hope that at some point, the King, in his ultimate wisdom, would find a way to kickstart this group into contention.  For the record, I made a break for the fire escape back in January.

Unless management sets up the greatest raid in league history to offload Westbrook for some pieces that will comfortably acquiesce to James and Davis’ playstyles, there could be an encore next year for the purple and mold.  My sources tell me, the chances of an equitable trade are about as low as the bar to hold a congressional chair in Florida (see Matt Gaetz). 

Getting rid of Westbrook will not solve every issue.  The Fakeshow will need a coach, as Frank Vogel is expected to be the first casualty on the team after Denver ends LA’s misery.  He’s already speaking to the press like he expects to clean out his office no later than the end of next week.  

A message to whoever is left in charge after the season: Good luck finding a new instructor who can turn the sour grapes of this team into wine.  James is unwilling to guard his man or closeout on each possession so that he keeps fresh legs for offense.  Davis is reluctant to play the 5, limiting the room for cuts to the basket.  And Westbrook needs to lead his four other teammates in time with the ball to be effective on the court.

It needs to start with James. A squad cannot win if its best player will not commit to guarding the opponent.  His age doesn’t give him a pass here, no matter how dazzling his strikes against the rim are in hot pursuit of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record.

If James won’t sacrifice his numbers and guard his man, why should his teammates?  I’m old enough to remember Tim Duncan at 37 years old neutralizing Chris Bosh from the field in Game 7 of the 2013 Finals.  With James’ athletic superiority over most of the league even at his advanced age in basketball years, there’s still a possibility that he can return to being a pivotal defender if he starts trusting AD and Russ to do more of the heavy lifting on offense.

The only way James will be able to do that is if he accepts he’s no longer the player he once was.