Not even a healthy Kobe Bryant could save the Los Angeles Lakers now.
The purple-and-gold were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs on Wednesday night after the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Brooklyn Nets. With 21 games remaining in the regular season, 2014-2015 marks the earliest Los Angeles has been denied a postseason possibility since the franchise moved to Southern California.
Coach Byron Scott, a three-time champion with the Lakers during the 1980s, stayed optimistic about his team’s chances until the very end. Via insidesocal.com:
“Damn. I was waiting for us to go on a 21-game winning streak,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said.
He’s joking, of course.
But Scott’s earlier remarks decrying Magic Johnson for saying he hopes Los Angeles “loses every game” makes it easy to assume otherwise. If the Lakers had somehow embarked on the most remarkable run in league history and made the playoffs, it still wouldn’t have helped the franchise in the long-run – only player development, draft picks, and free agent signings can do that now.
Scott surely thinks differently, but his incredible success as a member of the Showtime Lakers directly lends itself to that attitude. Here’s hoping this sarcastic quip is an indication he’s willing to abandon it going forward.
[insidesocal] [H/T @BaxterHolmes]