Final Record: 21-61 .256, 5th Pacific, Home Record: 12-29, Road Record: 9-32, Division Record: 2-14, Conference Record: 9-43
Alright Laker Nation, hopefully you guys are enjoying the playoffs so far or maybe just focusing directly towards the draft and free agency. Welcome to the long awaited "Season in Review" post for the 2014-15 Los Angeles Lakers. As usual, the same format will apply where I just reflect on the season, look at all 82 games in the best condensed way as possible, and personnel changes and offseason needs.
The top picture of Kobe Bryant's tweet after last season, pretty much sums it up this season for the Lakers. With a healthy Kobe Bryant and the hiring of Byron Scott, many of us thought the Lakers will be more competitive than last season. Those two take great pride in donning the purple and gold colors and they'll teach this team to win like many past Laker teams. That plan didn't take off, 1st round pick Julius Randle got injured during the 1st game of the season vs. the Rockets. Injuries played a key role once again, Kobe got hurt with a torn rotator cuff, Nick Young, injured, Ronnie Price, injured, Jordan Hill, was injured a couple of games. However, that doesn't change the fact that this Laker roster was a mess, with a vibe similar to a D-League team this season. The Lakers just couldn't get off to a good start and this season went downhill from the get-go, even with Kobe Bryant in the lineup. The one thing that highlighted all this futility this season was Kobe Bryant's face when Jimmy Kimmel showed him a clip of Nick Young and Jordan Hill acting like total fools of themselves in Jeremy Lin's post game interview when the Lakers beat the Celtics in overtime. Lakers, I believe, were on a 8 game losing streak prior to that home game vs. the Celtics. Don't get me wrong, a win against the Celtics is always sweet, but celebrating a win, knowing the team is still the penultimate bottom dweller in the West does not define this prestigious franchise and all its glory and dedication to deliver a winning season and a championship. And the worst part about it is, the Celtics, with a roster of misfits, managed to clinch a playoff berth and the Lakers didn't. That should leave a bad taste in the mouth.
Although this season was met with a whole lot of disappointment and a lot of boredom, there were a few positives that the Lakers can take with them next season. The Lakers managed to snatch a few wins against playoff teams. They managed to win against both the Warriors and the Hawks and little did we know those two teams would be at the top of their respective conferences. They beat the defending champion Spurs thanks to a miracle three by Young, the Bulls in OT, and the Rockets despite Howard not playing. The Lakers managed to get a couple of upset, "feel-good" wins, regardless if those teams were healthy or not when the Lakers managed to tact on W's against them. Another positive, they uncovered a gem in Clarkson. Jordan Clarkson showed a lot of potential, putting up 20+ points in a lot of games, some of them he finished with either a double-double or a near triple-double. He also knocked down his first game winning shot against the Timberwolves in an OT thriller back in March and willed the Lakers to victory against the Sixers in Philadelphia. Clarkson thrived and proved to be a valuable 2nd round steal for the Lakers. To me, him and Julius Randle right now are the future. It's a little too early considering Randle has yet to play a full game or yet, a full season, but the Lakers managed to snag two players in the draft that could potentially serve as building blocks to halt some of the panic for the post-Kobe apocalypse.
So what do the Lakers have to do in the offseason? It's easy to think that they should fire Byron Scott and I will admit this, Scott has underutilized some players (Jeremy Lin) and his bench rotation and tampering with the lineup was at an all-time high. However, I think that because this roster was depleted with talent, I'm willing to give Scott another chance. If he has a fallout like he did in Cleveland and the team continues to regress or makes little progress, then the option of releasing him is feasible. In terms of draft and free agency, the Lakers desperately need a big man that can post up. Ever since Pau Gasol left via free agency last year, a lot of us can tell that there will be an absolute void in the paint and that is exactly what transpired during this season. Personally, I haven't looked up a lot about upcoming prospects for this draft, but one player has been stuck in my head and that's Jahlil Okafor out of Duke. When I tuned in for the National Championship game vs. Wisconsin, I wasn't that impressed considering he was in foul trouble the majority of the game, but I'm hoping I get more good impressions from Okafor once I see more tape of him.
The Lakers need to have a core for the future, while still building a team for Kobe to ride off into the sunset a champion. The Lakers have to get back to basics to balance between now and the future. We can fantasize about them getting a LaMarcus Aldridge, a K. Love, or a Rondo, but in the offseason it's more than just landing a star player, the Lakers also have to get guys that can be role players and contribute in a big way. Getting 3-4 stars to play together is cool and all, but they're nothing if a decent supporting cast is not surrounding them. The Lakers need to manage free agency wisely. Instead of waiting for a star like last year, they need to sign good, quality players in the free agency while chasing after that star free agent. They need to use the draft too to get another future star like Randle and another 2nd rounder like Clarkson who can contribute in a huge way. Look at the Lakers when they first landed Shaq, they used free agency and the draft wisely. Even though this was a 4-5 year plan, they surrounded Shaq by trading for a future star in Kobe through the draft and drafting a decent contributor in Derek Fisher. Then, they used free agency to sign quality role players like Robert Horry, Rick Fox, Brian Shaw, etc. The scenario however is a lot different because Kobe's not going to stick around and the Lakers want to build him a championship team now. I mean, it's going to take a balanced effort from Mitch to work his magic in the free agency period by landing a star and quality role players and drafting a top quality future star and a quality role player in the 1st and 2nd round.
The Lakers have money to spend, they have a top pick, Mitch Kupchak needs to play both cards well to quickly restore the Lakers to greatness. And as usual, Jim Buss needs to put his ego aside to let Mitch do his thing. I'm repeating the same thing as last year's "Season in Review" post, but the Lakers front office has to do it right. The Lakers want a championship? Do they want to have a prosperous future once Kobe Bryant hangs up those sneakers? Balance out the free agency period and the draft. Think about now, but also keep a big picture in mind for the future. Thank you Laker Nation for following my coverage of the 2014-15 Laker season on my blog. It was not a lot of content and I cancelled a lot of games to cover, but my passion for this team never falters. I'll see you guys later for the NFL Draft, the NBA Finals, the NBA draft, and the NBA free agency period. Also, I will have another collaboration with my friend Stillmattic on blog soon so be sure to check him out at bleachzealot.blogspot.com. Once again, I'll see you guys later, I'm out.
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