NBA Tank Rankings: Hornets, Pistons Ascending Negative List
By Brad Rowland
2) Los Angeles Lakers
Every joke has been made about this year’s edition of the Lakers, and we aren’t even to December yet.
Los Angeles has become one of the punching bags of the league based on total incompetence defensively. While Kobe Bryant can entertain and produce offensively, it is difficult to point to one single player on the Lakers roster who could be considered above-average defensively (Ed Davis, perhaps?), and it shows in the fact that they are (easily) the worst defensive team in the league from an efficiency (disastrous) and overall production (allowing 111.4 points per game) standpoint.
Even with their relatively decent offensive talent (headlined by Bryant, Nick Young and even Carlos Boozer), the Lakers are nothing more than a middle-of-the-pack team on that end of the floor. It is incredibly difficult to watch this team play on either end of the floor unless Bryant or Young is cooking offensively, and Byron Scott already appears overmatched to perform the job for which he is handsomely paid.
It is fair to say that the Lakers are closer to the third spot than the “top” spot on this list, but they are the worst team in the Western Conference right now, and that paints an accurate picture.
Next: Philadelphia 76ers