5 Reasons the Los Angeles Lakers Won't Make the NBA Playoffs

As former president of Laker Nation, it pains me to say this, but the Los Angeles Lakers are in serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs.  It is apparent from watching them lose their first two games that the Lakers got old and slow in a hurry. 

The lockout-shortened season will be especially tough on them as they try to implement a new system, stay healthy and win enough games to stay in the playoff hunt.  The Lakers are a prideful bunch with a top-five player on their team so I won't completely count them out, but if they do come up short of the postseason here are the five reasons why.

Jim Buss

The Jim Buss era is off to a shaky start.  He hired a mediocre coach without the input of his franchise player, got bamboozled out of the Chris Paul trade and gave up a disgruntled, oversensitive Lamar Odom for little to nothing.  Couple that with his unwillingness to trade Andrew Bynum and Jim Buss is starting to look like the wrong man for the job.

Mike Brown

Although he had some success as the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers (even winning Coach of the Year honors) there are still questions about his coaching effectiveness.  A lot of people think LeBron James made him look better than he really is. 

With all the additional distractions that come with coaching the Lakers (Hollywood, player ego, high expectations), Mike Brown is probably in over his head.

Andrew Bynum

Andrew Bynum is a solid contributor when he's healthy, but he's rarely healthy.  You'll never be able to depend on him for a full season and now that Lamar Odom is gone there's no insurance policy. 

To make matters worse Jim Buss mistakenly thinks he can follow in the footsteps of other great Laker big men (George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal).  Once he finds out the truth, it will be too late.

Point Guard Play

Derek Fisher and Steve Blake are way past their primes.  Fisher simply can't stay in front of elite point guards anymore and Blake has lost his confidence along with his jumper.  This weakness will get exploited time and time again, causing all sorts of problems for the Lakers defense. 

Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Western Conference is stacked at this position.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant is technically going into his 16th season, but if you count playoff games and international play it's more like his 20th season.  The wear and tear on his body has taken its toll and he's not the player he once was. 

Kobe has less help than in years past and the combination of his wrist injury and a grueling schedule may be too much to overcome.  In the end, his supporting cast will let him down and he'll grow to trust them less and less.