Colin Cowherd boldy claims that the Lakers aren’t a true no. 1 seed

According to Colin Cowherd, the Los Angeles Lakers are not an impressive first seed.

The Los Angeles Lakers are four games into the Orlando bubble and are off to an extremely slow start. So slow, in fact, that some NBA pundits are already selling their Lakers stock despite the team just clinching the first seed in the Western Conference.

Colin Cowherd is one of the NBA pundits that is selling low on the Lakers and is not impressed with the best team in the West. Cowherd talked about the Lakers on his Fox Sports show, “The Herd” on Thursday morning, arguing that the Lakers are not the typical Western Conference no. 1 seed and that you should not be impressed by them.

You can check out the entire four-minute clip below:

Cowherd’s main point, that the rest of the Western Conference was in a transition year for most of the season, is just so off-base. The fact of the matter is that the entire league, including the Los Angeles Lakers, were in a transition year.

He brings up multiple points explaining why several Western Conference teams were not as good: the Clippers had two new stars and Paul George was injured, the Denver Nuggets dealt with injuries and are young, James Harden was welcoming in something new with Russell Westbrook and Mike D’Antoni had a whole new staff, etc. etc.

What about the Lakers? LeBron James was welcoming in a new star in Anthony Davis — Check. The team had several new role players that had to learn to play together (Avery Bradley, Dwight Howard, Danny Green) — Check. Oh, and the coaching staff underwent nearly an entire overhaul from Luke Walton’s staff — Check.

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This season was just as much as a transition for the Lakers as it was any other team in the West. As a matter of fact, it is not like the Lakers were injury-proof, either. Kyle Kuzma missed time, Avery Bradley missed time, Anthony Daivs missed a handful of games, Rajon Rondo missed time, etc.

The “transition year” narrative to argue against the Lakers is off-base. This is still a team that is 51-16 (a 62-win pace) and has beaten the best teams in the league. They split with the Clippers, Bucks and Celtics and have the most wins against >.500 teams this season.

That is not impressive? Then what is?

Where Colin Cowherd is right about the Los Angeles Lakers:

Colin is right about one thing. The Orlando bubble should be considered as a completely separate entity from the regular season that preceded it. There is too far of a gap in between and so much has changed in those four months.

That does not mean what the Lakers accomplished is not impressive, though, and the team has had its struggles in the bubble. I have been very vocal about the team’s terrible shooting thus far in the bubble and how it could lead to a playoff upset, those are absolutely valid concerns.

But Cowherd also makes it seem like the Lakers’ biggest competitors are humming. Let’s not forget that the Lakers easily beat a Utah Jazz team that he cited as loving and still beat the Clippers (who lost to the Phoenix Suns).

The Bucks lost to the YMCA Brooklyn Nets and barely squeaked by the Houston Rockets. Why isn’t the Bucks loss to the Nets being talked about?

I get that the team has looked bad and they look like they are missing Avery Bradley dearly. And if they play like this, then yes, they will not make it far in the NBA Playoffs.

But if there is one thing that we have seen in the past that we know we can bank on, it is that LeBron James knows when to turn it up when it matters, and the rest of the team will too.