Going Out With A Whimper


"This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper."
- T.S. Elliot, "The Hollow Men"

The world isn't ending, it just feels like that for the Los Angeles Lakers. Coming off the worst playoff loss in franchise history, down 3-0 to the Spurs, and with more injuries than can be sustained, all hope is lost for this Laker team's ability to make a run in the playoffs.

Sure, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard are hanging in there, but they're playing with people that shouldn't be starting in a playoff game. Kobe Bryant is out with injury, so is Steve Nash, Jodie Meeks, and Steve Blake. That's the top four guards for the Lakers in case that wasn't clear. Now, Metta World Peace is likely out as well.

Basketball is dominated by stars, and you need stars to win, but you need other players too. Just ask LeBron James. For as great as he was, the Cleveland Cavaliers couldn't get to that top level. It wasn't until he matched his talents with the talents of others that LeBron won the title.

The same happened for Kobe. After he kicked Shaq to the curb and ditched Phil Jackson, it was his team. And the Lakers languished, barely making the playoffs and then going home early. Such is the fate of this Laker team.

A season that began with promise has ended in disappointment with more questions than answers. Will Kobe Bryant return? Will Dwight Howard re-sign? Will Steve Nash ever be the same? Will the Lakers move Pau Gasol and/or Metta World Peace? No one knows.

Much like the Boston Celtics — another great team with an injured, aging core that has passed its title window — the Lakers need to think to the future. Even if Bryant can come back, it likely won't be for the whole season. He also likely won't ever be the same player.

So who leads the Lakers? What is the team's future?

We don't have the answer to those questions today, but the team has plenty of time to think about it.

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