With the defeat in Phoenix, it is clear that the Los Angeles Lakers will not participate in the postseason this season. Anthony Davis still believes this team had what it took to win a championship.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” said head coach Frank Vogel immediately after the 110:121 defeat at the Suns. “We disappointed our fans and the Buss family who gave us this opportunity. We wanted to bring success to the Lakers, but we didn’t make it.”
Just two years after the championship in the Orlando bubble, the postseason will take place without the 17-time champion for the first time since 2019. Even before the season, the Lakers were considered one of the big favorites for the title, now the season is over in mid-April. “It wasn’t because of the action,” Vogel defended his team. “It was a bumpy season, we are all disappointed.”
Vogel pointed to the franchise’s bad luck with injuries. Both Anthony Davis and LeBron James were out several times, and the superstar duo only played 22 games together. The balance of 11-11 with the two is still meager. Russell Westbrook’s trade did not bring the desired success either, the point guard was repeatedly criticized and is considered a trade candidate for the offseason.
Lakers: Anthony Davis sees championship team
If Westbrook has his way, he will still be on the field for the Lakers in 2022/23. When the guard was asked if he regrets not sharing the field with James and Davis more often, the former All-Star said: “Sure, that’s the plan, but there are no promises (… ) Of course we want to see how the three of us look together over an 82-game season.”
AD took the same line and expressed disappointment that the team never had the chance to compete with a full roster. Davis himself has only been available in 40 games so far and also regretted being one of the leaders who had to let his team down.
“Our goal was the championship and I still believe that we had everything in the team for that. But the many injuries prevented that, that was the difference this season,” said Davis. “We had more different starting fives than wins.”
Lakers: Changes are coming
It is unlikely that the Lakers will return in this form. There are still trade rumors about Westbrook, and Coach Vogel’s chair is shaking a lot. According to information from Jake Fischer (Bleacher Report) the Lakers would like to replace the master coach of 2020, Quin Snyder (Jazz) and Doc Rivers (Sixers) are traded as successors.
Of course, nobody wanted to comment on such rumours. Carmelo Anthony also kept a low profile when asked if there were already internal talks to try again with the same team. “It’s too early for that,” Melo said. “We still have three games to play and it would be very selfish for anyone to think that far.”
The Lakers only won 31 of 79 games this season, compared to 42 last year with a shortened playing time of 72 games.
Los Angeles Lakers: The balance sheet since the arrival of LeBron James
| Saison | balance sheet | Platz | Playoffs |
| 2018/19 | 37-45 | 10. | lost |
| 2019/20 | 52-19 | 1. | Champion |
| 2020/21 | 42-30 | 7. | Out in round one |
| 2021/22 | 31-48 | 11. | lost |