The Blame Game

The Blame Game is a problem that has plagued the NBA for many years of its long history. Players have blamed each other, coaches have blamed players(and players blamed coaches), fans have blamed refs, and the Spurs have blamed David Stern. It is a prevalent part of the game that can either be justified with horrendous play calls or horrendous officiating, or turn in to whining on the part of a player who seeks attention for themselves. Recently the Blame Game has affected the Showtime Lakers 2.0. Or is it 3.0? or 2.75? The court is still out on that one. 

To give context to the situation, and information to anyone who has decided to live their lives under a rock for last 5 months, the Lakers brought together a super team of 4 future Hall of Famers, with the longtime Lakers Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant, and adding on to the duo with Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash and Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. Everyone and their dog in LA immediately believed that this team would destroy everyone in their path and start off as one of the greatest to ever grace the planet. However, things like that rarely ever turn out the way they seem in the NBA. The Lakers have hobbled out to a 8-9 start with losses to sub .500 teams such as Sacramento (who has a total of 4 wins, one of which is against the Lakers), Dallas, Portland, Indiana, and finally Orlando, Dwight's previous team, in a 113-103 stinker of a game. Now, remember, Steve Nash is out with a fracture of his shin bone, but 3 future HOF should be enough, right? With arguably the second best player ever in the NBA, arguably the best center since Shaq in his prime, and with one of the best shooting power forwards, the Lakers have very much underachieved. 

Even with all this underachievement and none of the 3 playing to the best of their abilities, with the possible exception of Kobe Bryant, the Lakers and and their coach Mike D'Antoni are not focusing on their real problem of cohesiveness and team ball but are more focused on blaming each other for the current state of their team.