The Los Angeles Lakers have received some criticism from NBA pundits that might not be deserved.
The Los Angeles Lakers went into the NBA Playoffs sluggishly. If you are a constant reader of Lake Show Life, you know that we did not shy away from the fact that the Lakers did not look great and it was a bit concerning.
Of course, LeBron James did what LeBron James does and has turned it on in the NBA Playoffs and the Lakers got through the Portland Trail Blazers quite easily after dropping Game 1. Were they perfect? No. But they are the only team that could stop the red-hot Blazers in the bubble.
Yet despite this, the Lakers are still getting some of the same criticism that they were receiving as they headed into the NBA Playoffs. Now, criticism is always welcomed when it is valid. This is not a team site that will paint everything as sunshine and rainbows and exhibit and obvious hometown bias.
But the criticism that the Lakers have received is quite… shocking? Skip Bayless is still doing his thing and saying that the Lakers are not that good (do we expect anything different?) but it does not stop there. Prior to Game 5, ESPN’s Kirk Goldsberry penned that nobody should be scared of this Lakers offense.
We will admit, the Lakers’ offense has not been incredible in the playoffs but it has been far from bad and the identity of this team has always been defense first, despite what many want to think.
The hypocrisy of critiquing the Los Angeles Lakers so heavily:
Again, sending criticism where it is warranted is absolutely fine and that is the business we are in. That is not going to stop just because it is the Lakers and even we can admit that someone like Danny Green has been really poor offensively thus far in the bubble.
But the Lakers as a whole are the only title-contending team that has not shown any really concerning signs in the playoffs. Sure, they lost Game 1, but they made adjustments and the rest of the series against Portland, which remember, everyone touted as the best eighth seed ever, was not even close.
Look at the Milwaukee Bucks. They haven’t been playing fantastic basketball, got a softball in the Orlando Magic and dropped Game 1 to the Miami Heat. That series is far from over but they have looked far from dominant.
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Look at the Los Angeles Clippers. They dropped two games to Dallas and that series would have been completely different if some things did not go the Clippers’ way. The ejection of Kristaps Porzingis in Game 1 and the injuries to both Porzingis and Luka Doncic really hurt Dallas’ chances.
The Clippers probably would have still gotten the job done but who knows? They did not look particularly great, they really won that series because Kawhi Leonard put the team on his back. The rest of the supporting cast looked worse than the Lakers’ supporting cast.
The Los Angeles Lakers are not a perfect basketball team. It is just weird that they are the bonafide title contender that is getting the most criticism despite being the best-looking team thus far in the playoffs among the “big three”.
But hey, that comes with the territory of being the biggest basketball team in the league while also having the face of the league on the roster.