The Los Angeles Lakers were heavy favorites to win the NBA Championship heading into the 2021-2022 season, but as of this writing, the Lakers are currently 28-35 and currently sit in 9th place in the Western Conference. The season has been a big disappointment so far, with the underachievement of guard Russell Westbrook and the leadership of head coach Frank Vogel being heavily called into question. Other factors have come into play, such as injuries to key stars such as Anthony Davis, but with so many changes to the Lakers roster in the offseason, the team has struggled to gel into a championship-caliber team.
As a result, the Lakers became a punchline for a joke on the Weekend Update segment of this week's episode of Saturday Night Live:
"Some military experts have been surprised that despite having superior firepower, the Russian army has been slowed by aging equipment, poor motivation and inept leadership. So basically, they're the Lakers."
So where do the Lakers go from here? Maybe jokes like this will serve as motivation for the Lakers to finish strong and gain some momentum heading towards the playoffs. LeBron James is certainly motivated, having arguably one of the best seasons of his career. On Saturday night, LeBron James led the Lakers with 56 points to help them beat the Golden State Warriors 124-116 and help end a 4-game losing streak.
There is still time for the Lakers to turn things around, but time is running out and the pressure is building. Anything less than a championship for the Lakers will be considered a disappointment. Time will tell how this plays out.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
