We’re in the final hours of the 2021-22 NBA regular season. The tanking teams are turning in injury reports for their whole roster, contenders are coasting into home-floor first-round series, and the Lakers… oh, the Lakers.
With news that LeBron and AD are both doubtful for their game against the Mavericks, perhaps the long-beleaguered squad is finally facing the music; content to slide into 11th and bow out of the playoff race altogether rather than slum it in the play-in tournament. After opening as pre-season championship favorites with a star-studded, if aging, roster, the Lakers are 10th in the West, just a game above the San Antonio Spurs, and now are 8.