On Wednesday evening, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers suffered a crushing home loss to the Sacramento Kings, a team they are desperately trying to catch up to in the Western Conference standings. James played well in this one before leaving early with an ankle injury, but ultimately the Lakers were unable to do anything right after racing out to a nearly 20-point lead early in the first quarter.
The loss was a major setback for the Lakers, who are currently in tenth place as the regular season winds down, and recently, former NBA big man and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins dropped a harsh truth bomb on the Lakers’ postseason chances.
“Hell no they’re not a threat in the Western Conference. They are not,” said Perkins, via First Take on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter. “We need to stop saying that, stop thinking that. No one that’s in the top tier, or that’s in the playoffs, or in the playoff hunt of playoff picture, or the play-in tournament, is worried about the Los Angeles Lakers. They can’t guard a parked car. They’re struggling to find an identity on both sides of the floor consistently. Darvin Ham doesn’t know what lineups he wants to throw out there on a night to night basis. They’re all over the place.”
While a matchup with LeBron James and Anthony Davis might not be the first choice for many Western Conference foes, the point remains that the Lakers have been a model of inconsistency so far this year.
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