Lakers Don't Have a Prayer to Win Championship with Current Team

Did you watch the Heat-Lakers game on TNT?

Did you see the Dwyane Wade-less Miami Heat dance all over the Los Angeles Lakers to the point that you almost—almost—expected to see Don Cornelius walk out onto half-court?

Were you debating by the end of the third quarter about flipping the channel to see what those feisty housewives were up to on Bravo for a moment there?

Because, for a matchup that was supposed to feature two of the best players in the game pitted against each other, this game had all the intensity of a ShamWow infomercial.

And do you know what was the saddest thing about it all? The Lakers gave more heavy minutes to players whose names no one ever heard of.

Who is this Norris kid at point guard? Wasn't Josh McRoberts the name of someone I think I went to high school with?

Why does Devin Ebanks sound like the most settling name of the bunch? Oh, nevermind, I know now.

It's because his name resembles riff guitarist Kevin Eubanks, while his physical appearance resembles Trevor Ariza.

For the love of God, how the heck did this Lakers team become so pathetic?

No, I don't want to hear you tell me that they are sitting atop the Pacific division at 10-6.

Heck, we all know that this team doesn't have enough to contend. And it must be making Kobe's blood boil to think that the last few good years he has left in this league are being left to rot on this all-reject team.

Speaking of Kobe—no, not the player, but the language—I've become fluent in it.

See, when he throws up these streaks of 40-point games and shoots a high number of shots, the rest of the world may be cheering him on, but that isn't really the message he's trying to send.

What he's trying to say is, "this team sucks!" Seriously. That's what a 40-point game means in Kobe-nese.

Here's what else Kobe is thinking but isn't saying.

"How the heck is this old geezer still playing point guard for my team! I don't care that he makes big shots, he was a veteran when I was a rookie! All the other point guards zip right by him like he's Tom Hanks in 'Catch Me if You Can!'"

"Why on Earth did we trade the sixth-man of the year and our one and only glue-guy for a trade exception! And, by the way, when do you plan on using that, Mitch?! When we draft Luke Walton's son three years from now?"

And to think, what adds the most insult to this injury of a season is that the black-sheep Clippers are upstaging the Lakers as each day passes.

Now, does getting Dwight Howard next season make this all go away?

I sure wouldn't believe so, because the only way the Lakers are getting him is in a trade. And if you think the Magic are willing to let him go at a discount rate, you're nuts!

By the way, I've asked this question before, but yet, it still bears repeating.

If Dwight Howard was the big prize all along, and the Lakers were willing to trade Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom for Chris Paul, wouldn't it make sense that they'd be okay with trading Bynum and Gasol for D. Howard? Does anyone have a proper answer to this question?

Then again, why am I not surprised?

Because that's all this Lakers team has done since getting swept by the Dallas Mavericks last year—leave us all with more questions than answers. 

They needed to make upgrades to a team that was slowly decomposing. Instead, they brought in a bunch of scrubs.

And still, the team looks slower and older than ever.

All I can say is that if history repeats itself, we know how this is going to play out.

See, Kobe hears his biological clock ticking louder now than ever before. And with each passing year without another championship, the noise becomes more and more deafening.

Can you see a trade demand coming along soon?

Well, I can.

The death road in the NBA is mediocrity, and that is exactly the road the Lakers are on.

So, frankly, I wouldn't blame Kobe.

I also wouldn't be surprised if it comes sooner than we all think.