LSL Mid-Season Roundtable: Changing of a Mindset
By Jacob Rude
What will the Lakers record be over the final 41 games?
(Preseason predictions in parentheses)
Brian Booth (45-37) – 15-27. Guys continue to drop like flies, and even with the pending returns of Farmar, Blake and Bryant, I don’t see this team being able to get back to even the .500 mark, which may not be the worst thing in the world. As Gotham City DA Harvey Dent once said, “The night is darkest before dawn.”
Jan 15, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D
Mike Garcia (30-52) – I had predicted roughly 35 wins at the beginning of the season. I expect the same. The Lakers can double their total wins. While they have hit rock bottom, it’s only a matter of time when players come back relatively healthy, and provide a definitive, quality of play to put a string of wins together towards the end of the season.
Blair Hicks (50-32) – I predicted a 50 win season, so I’m pretty bitter about tankapalooza 2014. The point guard injuries and Kobe’s aborted comeback effectively ended their playoff hopes. In the end its for the best. I think the Lakers continue to stink it up through February and will show signs of life beginning in March, when Kobe starts to get his legs under him. I say they go 11-30 to finish the season. D league players all watch the Lakers waiting for a call.
Valerie Morales (47-35) – Assuming Kobe is back in Feb. as he defiantly says he will be, and Farmar and Blake are back as well, they should be a little under .500 so I would put them at 20-22. The presumption is Kelly will get more minutes. His defense is deplorable but he is the one person on the roster that has developed. He will help their offense and ball movement.
Jacob Rude (38-44) – I optimistically predicted a 38-44 record, and with the Lakers on pace for 32-50, I wasn’t too terribly far off. Their second-half schedule does them no favors, though, with them in the midst of a stretch of 13 games on the road out of 16. For my record to hold true, the Lakers would have to go 22-19 which is far too realistic. Their current project is much closer. They’ll finish the year 14-27, to finish at 30-52.