The state of Los Angeles basketball is in disarray at the moment. The Lakers are not the only team in LA to be having problems though. UCLA basketball is struggling just as much if not more than the Lakers currently are. The biggest problem that seems to be consistent between the two teams is poor team chemistry. I don't necessarily mean off the court either.
Both teams have tons and tons of talent and yet they both have been losing consistently to lesser teams. Last night the Lakers fell to a Dwight-Less Orlando team. Remember that Howard is now on the Lakers? He and Kobe showed up at least, but the rest of the team didn't do all that much. The Lakers need to find their way out of this funk in time to make sure that they at least have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
UCLA was on it's way to a blow-out win against Cal Poly when the wheels fell off the bus and they lost an 18 point second half lead. The Bruins, much like the Lakers have huge expectations and even bigger talent. The problem still seems to be the lack of cohesion between the players. They all seem to be doing their own thing at times instead of running a consistent offense. And don't even get me started on the defensive side of things.
The Lakers and Bruins have one thing going for them. They can only get better from here out. Eventually all this talent will find a way to win games. We have seen it before. We will see it again. Let's hope for the sake of LA hoops that these transformations are made sooner rather than later. Everyone who isn't a Lakers or UCLA basketball fan would love to see these teams fail. It is the biggest problem of being a storied franchise/program. There are always more haters than fans.
This week is a big one for both teams. The Lakers head out on their first real road trip of the season. UCLA plays my Alma Mater (Cal State San Marcos) on Tuesday which should be a cake walk and then they play an equally troubled Texas team on Saturday. Both UCLA and the Lakers need to pick up wins quickly before their seasons turn into major disappointments. I have faith in both of them!
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