Los Angeles Lakers: 10 Reasons the Lakers Aren’t Favorites to Win NBA Title
The Los Angeles Lakers broke their four-game losing streak with a 113-80 victory over the Sacramento Kings last Friday.
But all is not wonderful in Los Angeles.
The Lakers haven't been the dominant team that everyone expected them to be, and there are more questions than answers about the team's championship aspirations at this point.
Though the Lakers are 14-6 and the 2010-11 season still has a ways to go, the Lakers haven't asserted themselves as the clear-cut favorites to win a third-straight NBA title.
Why?
Well, let's take a look at 10 reasons why the Lakers aren't the favorites to win the NBA title right now.
10. Road Woes
1 of 10
The Lakers are 9-2 at home so far this season, but they've been a mediocre team on the road.
When leaving the friendly confines of the Staples Center, the Lakers are just 5-4.
Los Angeles allowed more than 100 points and scored less than 100 points in four of those six road losses.
At home, on the other hand, the Lakers scored more than 100 points in seven of their nine wins at Staples Center.
9. The Wild, Wild West
2 of 10
As usual, the Western Conference is loaded once again this year.
San Antonio is 17-3, Dallas is in the midst of a huge winning streak, Utah looks like a serious contender and teams like Oklahoma City and New Orleans are hanging around.
The West "favorite" will probably change from week to week, but there are multiple teams who look more impressive than the Lakers do right now.
In fact, Los Angeles would be the fourth seed in the West if the playoffs started today.
8. Almost Doesn't Count
3 of 10
The Lakers tend to stay close even when they lose, and I was a bit up in the air about whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Then, I remembered a little saying my dad once told me: "Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."
Well, the Lakers' losses have come by an average of 5.3 points per game, and they've only lost one game by more than six points—a 10-point loss to the Rockets.
It's all fine and dandy that they stay close, but it doesn't mean much at the end of the day.
7. The Long Road Home
4 of 10
What do the Celtics, Magic, Spurs, Jazz and Mavericks all have in common?
They get it done at home and the road.
Celtics: 9-1 at home, 7-3 on the road.
Magic: 9-2 at home, 6-3 on the road.
Spurs: 9-2 at home, 8-1 on the road.
Jazz: 8-4 at home, 7-2 on the road.
Mavericks: 8-3 at home, 8-1 on the road.
As the slide stated earlier, the Lakers struggle on the road, which is never good for a title contender.
6. Point Guard Play
5 of 10
Point guard play is such an important part of the game, and the NBA's best teams all have had excellent play at that position.
The Celtics have Rajon Rondo, the Jazz have Deron Williams, the Mavericks have Jason Kidd—the list goes on and on.
But Derek Fisher and Steve Blake have combined for just five assists per game, and perhaps more importantly, they've struggled on the defensive end.
Recently, Mike Conley dropped 29 points on the Lakers on 10-of-13 shooting, Deron Williams scored 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting and dished out 12 assists and Derrick Rose scored 30 points to go along with eight assists.
If the Lakers keep getting killed at that position, they're in trouble.
5. The Bench
6 of 10
Throw out the Lakers' streak-snapping win against the Kings, and you'll see that the their bench isn't contributing much.
During the team's recent four-game skid, the Los Angeles bench averaged just 19.8 points per game compared to the starters, who averaged 79.3 points per game.
With Lamar Odom forced into that starter's role, the Lakers have lost a big chunk of the team's bench scoring.
And when you consider the quality of other contenders' benches, you have to be concerned that the Lakers will have to play their starters too many minutes.
4. Let's Take a Shot
7 of 10
The Lakers actually have done a decent job of limiting their opponents' scoring, but let's not overlook the team's inadequacies.
Of the 16 teams currently in playoff positions, Los Angeles ranks 11th in points allowed (they rank 15th overall) at 99.6 points per game.
That's largely because the Lakers give up 86.8 shot attempts per game—only the Phoenix Suns give up more.
Los Angeles continues to give its opponents too many second-chance opportunities to put the ball into the basket, and that could really hurt the Lakers in the long run.
3. Kobe Bryant Is Shooting Too Much...and Missing Those Shots
8 of 10
Kobe Bryant's shot-happy mentality isn't working, and it's hurting the Lakers.
In the Lakers' last six wins, Bryant is averaging just 20.3 shots attempts per game.
During the Lakers' four-game losing streak, however, Bryant averaged 25.8 shot attempts.
And the Lakers have only won two games (out of six) all season in which he attempts more than 23 shots.
Also, Bryant's shooting just 31.0 percent from downtown and 43.1 percent from the field, his worst shooting percentage since the 1997-98 season and the third-worst of his career.
2. Defense
9 of 10
There's a reason the Lakers have struggled during their last five games: They aren't playing good defense.
In the loss to Utah, the Jazz shot 49.4 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three-point range.
In the loss to Memphis, the Grizzlies shot 48.8 percent from the field and a ridiculous 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from downtown.
Similarly, in the Lakers' loss to Houston, the Rockets shot 50.6 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc.
It doesn't matter how many points you score—if you play that bad on the defensive end, you aren't going to be playing in June.
1. The Mavericks Are the Favorites
10 of 10
The Celtics, Magic, Jazz, Lakers and Spurs will play a huge role in who wins the NBA title.
But—dare I say it?—the Dallas Mavericks are the favorites right now.
Ah, I really hope Mark Cuban isn't reading this. God knows we don't need anything else to inflate his ego.
But the Mavericks really do have everything you look for in a championship contender: a good point guard (Jason Kidd), a top-notch scorer (Dirk Nowitzki), competent big men (Brendan Haywood and Tyson Chandler) and a scoring punch off the bench (Jason Terry).
If the playoffs started today, Dallas would be my pick to win the NBA Finals.
