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Lakers are now primed to have the worst record of LeBron James’ career

By Jason Reed

CLEVELAND, OHIO - MARCH 21: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers sits on the bench for a time-out during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on March 21, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Lakers defeated the Cavaliers 131-120. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO - MARCH 21: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers sits on the bench for a time-out during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on March 21, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Lakers defeated the Cavaliers 131-120. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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This Los Angeles Lakers season has been incredibly disappointing and we cannot blame any fans for checking out at this point in the season. LA is holding on by a thread to the hopes of making the NBA Play-in Tournament, and from there, would still have to win two do-or-die games to make the NBA Playoffs.

While there have been worse teams in terms of record in Lakers history, this is by far one of the most disappointing — if not the most disappointing — seasons in franchise history.

A month ago we took a look back at LeBron James’ career to see what the worst teams he had ever played for were. At that time, the 2021-22 Lakers had the statistics to be called the worst team of his career but it still seemed unlikely that they would wind up with the worst record. That has now changed.

The 2021-22 Lakers are on pace to finish with the worst record of LeBron James’ career.

The worst team of LeBron’s career up until this point was the 2003-04 Cleveland Cavaliers; a team where a teenage LeBron James came into a horrible Cavs team as a rookie and still managed to elevate them. That Cavaliers team finished with a 35-47 record.

This year’s Lakers team currently has a 31-43 record, needing a 4-4 finish just to tie those Cavs and a 5-3 record to have best them. The problem is that the final eight games are tough for LA and it is probably more likely that the Lakers go 0-8 than it is that they go 5-3.

LA takes on the Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans, Denver Nuggets (twice), Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder are the only “easy” game on that slate with the next easiest game being against the Pelicans, who have beaten the Lakers twice this season and just had a massive comeback to do so.

A 3-5 finish seems to be the ceiling for this Lakers team, putting them at a 34-48 record, one game worse than the 2003-04 Cavaliers. It is more than just the record, though. This year’s LeBron is far better than that year’s LeBron, showcasing that the talent around LeBron this season is far worse than the talent around LeBron 18 years ago… and that talent was not good, either.

As far as the numbers go, this year’s Lakers team is very comparable to that Cavs team. LA ranks 24th in offensive rating, 20th in defensive rating, 22nd in net rating and 22nd in Simple Rating System. Cleveland ranked 22nd in offensive rating, 19th in defensive rating, 22nd in net rating and 23rd in simple rating system.

Nobody would have predicted before the season that the 2021-22 Lakers would end up being the worst team of LeBron James’ career. Sure, there was some reasonable doubt after the Russell Westbrook trade, but even those fully against the Westbrook trade could not have expected a disaster this bad.

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Can the offseason come, already?