Heading into Friday’s matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers are sporting a 7-16 record with consensus being they’ll miss the playoffs for a second straight season.
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Although many have written off the Lakers after only 22 games this season, Nick Young remains confident the team will turn things around. In an interview with James Montgomery of Rolling Stone, Young said the following about the franchise struggling:
Losing sucks. Nobody wants to be known for losing; you can’t even have fun when you’re losing. Can’t post pictures on Instagram because you’re getting killed in the comments. I want nothing more than to get back into the playoffs with the Lakers. Ain’t nothing like the Lakers in the playoffs, and I think the city misses that. I still have no doubt we can make the playoffs. As long as we have the right attitude and Kobe and myself out there, anything is possible.
With the Western Conference being extremely competitive this season, the Lakers will have a near impossible task of battling back into contention for a playoff spot with 60 games left to be played.
Currently, only one Western Conference team in the top eight has double-digit losses. The division rival Phoenix Suns are sitting at 12-11 while the seven teams ahead of Steve Nash’s former club have no more than seven losses.
Things are drastically different in the Eastern Conference with the Milwaukee Bucks (11-12), Miami Heat (10-12) and Brooklyn Nets (8-12) currently in the playoff picture with losing records.
Although anything is possible as Young suggests, the Lakers haven’t shown signs of being able to play consistently well. The team shows flashes of potential at times, but continues to revert back to bad habits and inconsistent play.
Only time will tell if the Lakers can truly bounce back and make serious run at a playoff spot in the West.
[divide]Kobe Bryant, Nick Young React To Magic Johnson’s Tanking Comments