“You both win a championship otherwise you’re s—. It’s very black and white to me.”
Kobe Bryant stated these phrases after the Lakers’ 62nd lack of the 2015-16 marketing campaign, their third yr in a row setting a franchise document for defeats in a season, and his final marketing campaign within the NBA. His level was that any yr a staff doesn’t win a title is a waste.
“Whether or not you set a franchise document for losses otherwise you get to the playoffs and lose within the Western Convention finals, these are the identical rattling issues to me,” Bryant continued then. “Lots of people most likely don’t perceive that, don’t get that, and that’s high quality, however for me, they’re all the identical. So that you both win a championship otherwise you’re in the identical boat we’re in.”
That may look like hyperbole, however the Lakers have at all times stated that’s how they function. They don’t cling banners for division titles, or have fun convention Finals appearances. They reportedly solely acknowledged their In-Season Match title within the rafters of their area when the league pressured them to take action. Their common supervisor, Rob Pelinka, was Bryant’s greatest buddy and former agent, and has repeatedly said that he has the identical commonplace: That any transfer that doesn’t get the Lakers nearer to a title is just not value making.
So if a championship is the one factor that issues, the Lakers’ resolution getting into their Tuesday NBA Play-In matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans is straightforward: They need to throw the sport.
Sure, actually.
Relaxation their stars, make up (or relaxation some actual) accidents, and even channel their inside Cavaliers and play a four-big tanking lineup. It doesn’t matter how they do it, they simply have to with a purpose to keep away from the Denver Nuggets.
Does that appear antithetical to competitors? Perhaps. But when one is taking the concept yearly and not using a title is a waste to its logical conclusion, the Lakers ought to do all the things doable to maximise their odds at profitable one.
You already know what doesn’t try this? Successful a play-in postseason berth that may allow them to declare the seven seed… and a first-round matchup with the Nuggets, who swept them within the Western Convention Finals final season and have received eight video games in a row in opposition to Los Angeles, who seem to have zero solutions for possible three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
Would it not be dangerous for the Lakers to basically forfeit an opportunity on the playoffs and go to a one-game, winner-take-all state of affairs in opposition to the Golden State Warriors or Sacramento Kings? After all. Would it not be humiliating in the event that they did it… after which misplaced the subsequent play-in sport, and price the Buss household some candy, candy playoff income gate receipts within the course of? Clearly.
But when the staff really solely judges itself on whether or not it wins a championship or not, let’s channel our inside Paul Atreides, drink some distilled worm vomit, and pragmatically lay out the long run paths.
Behind Door No. 1 is a win in opposition to the New Orleans Pelicans and a first-round matchup with a staff that has overwhelmed them eight occasions in a row with a presumably gimpy Anthony Davis, who was injured within the staff’s regular-season finale. Does anybody actually assume this Lakers staff is taking that Denver matchup greater than 5 video games given how totally Jokic has dominated that matchup inside as Jamal Murray takes turns roasting their tiny guards on the perimeter? I actually don’t, and haven’t seen any proof this season to counsel they may.
Behind Door No. 2, nonetheless? How about an additional two days of relaxation for Davis and LeBron James earlier than a matchup with both the wheezing stays of the Sacramento Kings or the Golden State Warriors; all for an opportunity to play the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder within the one-eight matchup?
The Thunder actually deserve respect, however they’re additionally a younger staff the Lakers have seemed dominant in opposition to for 3 wins in a row this season and appear to have distinct matchup benefits in opposition to on the rim. Win that sequence, and also you both face a Mavericks staff additionally appears like a greater matchup for L.A. than Denver, or a last date with the LA Clippers as co-tenants of Crypto.com Area, with the chance to provide them one last LeViction discover. Then you definitely’re within the Convention Finals, the place theoretically you could possibly get some optimistic damage luck or pray that the Wolves or Suns took out Denver, and also you no less than have an opportunity in opposition to them.
There isn’t any honor in getting punted out of the postseason by the Nuggets yet another time. The identical individuals who would roast or criticize the Lakers for ducking Denver would do the identical for one more lopsided sequence loss. If a title is really all that issues, who cares? All of the Lakers can do is attempt to maximize their possibilities at it.
Now, it’s value noting that that is all a hypothetical. The Lakers, as (or extra) risk-averse to embarrassment as any NBA staff, are unlikely to spit within the face of custom to tuck tail vs. a Pelicans staff they appear to personal, and hope for the most effective on the opposite aspect of the bracket (or take an opportunity on the mockery that may include doing so, after which dropping to the Kings or Warriors). It’s uncertain LeBron would stand by and allow them to (voluntarily) duck that smoke, and the Lakers, as skilled athletes, most likely have sufficient satisfaction to consider they’ve a shot vs. the Nuggets.
However I don’t. At the very least not the totally wholesome model. So if we’re being pragmatic right here, the choice for them is obvious if this season is really title-or-bust: Relaxation the starters vs. New Orleans, take their possibilities within the second play-in sport, fireplace up their greatest shot at upsetting a Thunder staff they’ve matchup benefits in opposition to, and attempt to go so far as they’ll earlier than dealing with a staff they’ve little hope of beating in a sequence.
So name it ducking. Name it cowardly. I’ll simply name it strategic. And if increasing their odds at a title is really all that issues to them, the Lakers ought to too.
