Before the start of the season, perkins was very optimistic about the Lakers. On March 26, Beijing time, Perkins' remarks in September last year were turned over, when Perkins predicted that the Lakers were expected to play a 70-win season, and his original words were: "You tell me that a team with James, Westbrook, Davis, Anthony, Rondo, Howard, Ariza can't play a 60-win season?" In fact, I'm not surprised that they hit 70 wins. Just take a look at this lineup! ”
Half a year has passed, and looking back at Perkins' bold predictions, I can only say that the reality is too hard. The Lakers' current record is 31 wins and 42 losses, they still have 9 regular season games left, even if the remaining 9 regular season games are all won, a wave of 9 consecutive wins, the Lakers' final record is only 40 wins and 42 losses, the winning rate is less than 50%. 70 to 40 wins have fully illustrated the huge gap between the Lakers' performance this season and Perkins' expectations. It's no wonder many fans think it's the most disappointing team in Lakers history.
Perkins thinks the Lakers have 6 Hall of Fame stars and how can they not play well. The reality is that James is in good form, but it is difficult to lead the team to win; Westbrook has not been able to integrate into the system most of the time, and has only played better in the last four games; Davis is plagued by injuries and his form has declined significantly; Anthony has performed well on the offensive end and is often targeted on the defensive end; Rondo sits on the cold bench and is traded in the middle of the season; Howard and Ariza are often abandoned by Vogel. It can only be said that the ideal is very full, and the reality is very bone.
For the Lakers, 70 wins, 60 wins, 50 wins are already out of reach, and their best performance is to play 40 wins, of course, this is also difficult to achieve. The Lakers' short-term goal is to strive for a better play-off position first, and to try to enter the playoffs through the playoffs. Only in the playoffs can there be new hope, even if the challenge may be more difficult.