“Lakers–Defending Champion–About to Lose”

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They won a ring, or bought themselves a ring, a year ago in the NBA finals.

As good as the Lakers franchise has been, there seems to be stinging resentment about how they do their business.

A magnet for great players to come thru there, earn and ring and move on.

And now, a year after they won the title with the additions of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it seems they have become a very much ‘disliked franchise.’

I don’t know if it is about the wins; the way they carry themselves; or just the fact they are the example of the few rich among the many poor franchises in what the NBA has allowed the league to become.

Dream teams have become a Nightmare problem for the NBA.

Anthony Davis is hurt again.  He’s always hurts.  He has missed 36-games this year, and is out of this Tuesday must-win game with Phoenix.

Name an injury, he has had it.  Shoulder, knee, ankle, groin, calf, eye.  At last count he has come out of the lineup nine times in two years with the Lakers because of assorted injuries.

Somehow the Lakers have gone (19-17) this year with Davis out of the lineup, but that’s just a shade over .500, and .500-teams shouldn’t be in the playoffs this time of the year.

Davis’ fault?  Just bad luck?  Fragile psyche?  Gifted talent without alot of guts?

It continues a trend that he carried with him in his luggage with the New Orleans Pelicans.

LeBron James has grinded thru significant injuries the last three years , but finds a way to stay on the floor, more often than not.  He is back carrying this franchise, just like he carried Cleveland and Miami, and you know high ankle sprains don’t heal till the off season.

The Lakers seem to have become Public Enemy #1-these days, disliked more than Kyrie Irving’s tantrums with the Brooklyn Nets, a roster full of selfish spoiled brats.

Seems to be an epidemic around the league; Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and the biggest sinner James Harden.  Nice mess these guys left behind in places like Oklahoma City and Houston.

Some say it’s just the business of the NBA, but it seems to leave a bad taste in the mouth of alot of people.

Can the Lakers win this Suns series without AD?  Maybe, if Andre Drummond, Kyle Kuzma, Marc Gasol earn their pay, and have exceptional nights.  But who knows if that is possible, because that trio has been MIA more often than they have been in the box scores.

It, Lakers hoops, just has a different feel these days.  It’s not the Kobe-Shaq era.  It’s not the days of Derek Fisher’s game winning shots.  It’s definitely not Magic and Show Time.

Maybe all the winning has turned people off over the years around the league.  It just seems different from the Michael Jordan era of the Bulls, or the greatness of Bird-the Celtics and even the Bill Russell era decades ago.

Maybe it’s just the 30-40M contracts.  Maybe it’s just the fact 25-other franchises in the league have no chance to be playing this time of the year because the rich get richer and players demand and get everything.

The Lakers are in trouble as they take the floor in Phoenix on Tuesday night.

The NBA seems in trouble too.

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