2. A glass case full of emotions
As a fan, you always want to look at your team with a “glass-half-full” attitude. A couple nice additions of role players here, some good fortune there, and something is bound to break for the best. None of that happened.
LaMarcus Aldridge didn’t want in and Kevin Durant didn’t want to give the Lakers an interview. The year after the Lakers were supposed to make their return to relevancy (the 2013-2014 season), a starting lineup of Kendall Marshall, Jodie Meeks, Kent Bazemore, Ryan Kelly, and Jordan Hill was doled out while Bryant rehabbed a torn Achilles and Steve Nash nursed both leg and back injuries.
The following year, the Lakers finished the 2nd half of that season with another “must-see-tv” lineup: Jordan Clarkson, Wayne Ellington, Ryan Kelly, Tarik Black, and Robert Sacre.
A forgettable season that managed to get the internet to dig up an old Sacre clip that trends on social media today and reminding me of a time I had hoped to never revisit again.
https://twitter.com/LakeShowYo/status/1053153215506604033
These memories of futility and 8-foot air balls gave no reason for me to shed out a single meaningful emotion. The losses (and even occasional wins) were obviously worse than the numbing success felt during the Shaq-Kobe/Kobe-Pau-Odom days.
Even watching last year, while I enjoyed a Lakers team that had a promising future, my cheers and groans felt empty. I couldn’t be happier for Ingram, ‘Zo, Kuz’, and Hart’s progress, but the reality is that when they lost, I chalked it up to them being young and inexperienced. “
Get ‘em next time,” or “This loss was okay, you can learn from this,” is what I would say in my head as if I were their coach and they were my players. There is rarely a sense of urgency as a fan when your expectations of the team are capped at “just-do-your-best.”
Now with James coupled with the young core and the “M.U.D.” squad, the Lakers’ “just-do-your-best” mantra can be thrown out the window quicker than trying to forget a time when a panel of G Leaguers made up the starting lineup.
It’s been 14 years since LeBron started a regular season at 0-3, but this is nothing he, or Lakers fans should be concerned about. LeBron spoke of the Lakers 143-142 loss to the Spurs with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports saying,
"“It’s not tough…it’s a process. I get it…I’m frustrated we didn’t get the win, but I’ve showered and I’m good now.”"
Like many Lakers fans, I didn’t expect the Lakers to, in LeBron’s terms, “come out blazing storms right out of the gate.” Starting the regular season at 0-3 is not something to cheer for, but in keeping up with the “glass-half-full” outlook many preached during the Kendall Marshall and Kent Bazemore days, understanding today’s Lakers and their expected relevancy this season is important.