Once again, Mondays mean it’s a chance for Los Angeles Lakers fans to fire off their questions on the “Locked on Lakers” reviews page and, well, things are dark. Nothing quite summed that up better than when a listener asked how this disappointing Lakers season stacks up against the most annoying years in franchise history.
So, if you’re looking for disappointment across the entirety of the Lakers experience, you don’t have to look much further than that fateful season in which Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace went from one of the greatest conceptual lineups in NBA history to first-round fodder for the San Antonio Spurs.
It really says something that this season has any kind of comparison to that year. What’s crazier is that I actually think this has been more disappointing. I make that case in the show. I mean, shit, that loss to Phoenix over the weekend is a pretty good argument by itself.
Another topic on brighter side of things is how Brandon Ingram has played since his name took up a permanent place in trade rumors and speculation. Multiple listeners asked whether Ingram might be young Giannis Antetokounmpo, but with a jumper.
My response would be this: Guys, just let Ingram be Ingram. We already let expectations get out of hand because he shares a similar body type to Kevin Durant. He fell short of those hopes and dreams, and we held it against him. Now that he’s playing well, we shouldn’t restart that cycle.
Ingram has shown a ton of promise. He’s also had stretches where you wondered if he’d ever get it. Yes, he could take a similar leap to Giannis, but it’s extremely unlikely because leaps like that almost never happen, and hoping for that only opens everyone up to disappointment in the near future. Let Ingram develop at his own pace and become his own player.
Other topics covered in the show include: Whether I’m being too hard on Luke Walton, the future of Magic Johnson’s tenure if the Lakers strike out this summer, what striking out would even look like, and plenty more.
This full discussion can be listened to below, and make sure to subscribe on iTunes, where you can also leave questions in the form of a five-star review to guarantee your topic makes the show.
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