It is now official, the Los Angeles Lakers are eliminated from the play-in race and will therefore not participate in the Playoffs. Therefore, the Los Angeles… Clippers of Reggie Jackson and Nicolas Batum are (remain) the masters of LA this season. A surreal phrase, but which proves once again that in all team sports, the term “collective” is not there by chance.
Flashback. Last summer, Shams Charania blew up Twitter again in the middle of the 2021 draft by announcing the trade of Russell Westbrook to the Lakers. LeBron James and Anthony Davis receive a former MVP to form a trio, on paper, which is then considered “elite”. However, the 2021-22 season will not necessarily go as planned. Injuries galore for the King and, above all, for the Monobrow, Brodie who will never fit into the group and who rather chain the bricks, and even when LeBron James is present and he plays a great game, even a huge match and there have been… it’s still not a guarantee of victory. We then find ourselves in a group where Malik Monk becomes the second option of a team supposed to be favorite for the title, well well well. On the other side of town, the Clippers start their season knowing that Kawhi Leonard is out for a bunch of months, and Paul George behaves like a leader, surrounded by experienced role players like Nicolas Batum, Reggie Jackson, Ivica Zubac or Marcus Morris. Unfortunately PG13 is injured at the end of December. Tyronn Lue then finds himself without his two best players, sad emoji.
However, among the Clippers mentalities are quite different. In the whites and reds, Kawhi or not, Paul George or not… we fight, and Tyronn Lue had a big impact on this mentality. He adapts to his workforce, assigns the right roles to each of his players, roles that are respected to the letter. The experience of this group weighs in the balance, and during the season we also saw the Clippers make dantesque comebacks against the Wizards (-35) or the Jazz (-25). On the Lakers side, it was rather the opposite that happened most often, like against the Thunder at the very start of the season where LAL was nevertheless leading 41-19 at the end of the 1st quarter. Clippers 2021-22? Guys embody this mantra of Never give up that John Cena could be their ambassador.
WHAT A DREAM NIGHT. CLIPPERS WIN. WIIIIN CLIPPERS! ????❤️
A PERFECT RETURN FOR A HUGE 34-POINT PG. A 25-POINT COMEBACK AT HOME (AGAIN) AGAINST UTAH JAZZ. MAGNIFICENT MONEY-TIME. CRAZY NIGHT. LET’S GO CLIPPERS. pic.twitter.com/lHrIcK3TjV
— ???????? ClippersFR ???????? (@ClippersFR) March 30, 2022
Among the yellows and purples, on the other hand, it squeaks, it cries, it seeks excuses or, at worst, mitigating reasons. You only have to see the statements of the players or the staff throughout the season to realize this. “We need time”, “We would have beaten the Suns in the Playoffs last year if I weren’t injured”, “The thing I think about the most is what we could have been if we We’ve stayed healthy all season.” We do not feel any group, collective or competitive spirit, and one of the running gags of this season is still on the head of LeBron James who laments at the level of play of Russell Westbrook when he is on the bench. And this has direct consequences on the floor with missed money times, a non-existent desire to fight and a game based solely on talent had the greatness by LeBron James. Frank Vogel has a role to play in this situation and if he cannot play for his team he must instill revolt, shout when necessary and not let his players drag their feet on the floor.
Lebron checking stats evaluating players to trade mid game is crazy
Westbrook scared to death ☠️ pic.twitter.com/GgmPjzMiT6
— ClipperTalk (@ClipperTalk) January 10, 2022
All these elements lead to a simple and factual observation. The Clippers, eighth in the Western Conference, had a better season than the Lakers, eleventh in the Western Conference with a team without an All-Star player available (or almost). And hey, we can go even further by recalling that the Clippers have swept the Lakers on the regular (4-0).
An observation that carries with it many consequences for the two franchises. For the Clippers it’s simple, the team qualified for the play-in without its franchise player and with a Paul George present for only a third of the season. The objective is fulfilled, the chances of qualifying for the first round of the Playoffs exist even if a potential first round against the Suns or the Grizzlies seems at first glance complicated. Now minds and motivation are also on next season with 100% Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and with that competitive mentality, watch out for the damage that can cause.
The consequences for the Lakers are more internal and will be truly visible this summer. Russell Westbrook and his contract worth more than 47 million dollars will they leave the city of Angels? During the last trade deadline RW was already at the center of several rumors and a return to the Rockets was even mentioned. Although he was MVP and nine-time All-Star, his season does not sell dreams, especially for a franchise that is aiming for the title.
For his friend Anthony Davis the sequel seems to be different. A transfer would be surprising and his duo with LeBron James works… when he is not injured. However, AD has been spending a lot of time in the infirmary lately. Since the coronation of 2020, Davis it is only 76 games in two seasons and that’s not enough for a player and a contract of this caliber. The Lakers would be entitled to wonder what to do with their interior. Give him another chance to prove that with LeBron, together, they are unstoppable, or find a way out and sound the alarm. Because whatever it is, there’s going to be changes in that workforce, the front office is going to have to choose who to keep, who to transfer and rebuild a competitive team around LeBron James, unless, um, maybe , no, anyway.
The Lakers superteam therefore totally missed its season, while an “average” Clippers team achieved its goals. Reggie Jackson and his gang remain the LA Kings, like last season, but this time around no need to even call the bosses. See you next year for the Threepeat?
