The Los Angeles Lakers and The Reason Behind Their Early Exits

I am a big fan of the Lakers because of many things. First, because of the Purple and Gold. I don't think there's any other team that plays at home wearing jerseys other than white. Although the Lakers have an alternate white jersey, the gold is just better for the Lakers.

Secondly, the Lakers is one of the most successful franchise in NBA history. They have 16 titles in their resume. The second most in NBA history.

Now I could go on with all of these but I don't want to bore my readership so I'll just cut straight to the chase.

As we all know, the Lakers in recent years have been eliminated early in the Playoffs. Last year, they lost to the Mavs in an ugly fashion. This year they were defeated by the Thunder. Both times in the Western Semi Finals. Needless to say, the Lakers aren't as good as they were during their back to back championship reigns.

There are many things to point out on why this has happened.

Kobe Bryant Needs To Grow As An Effective Leader

As we all know Kobe is the closest thing to Michael Jordan. The only thing that I think is different is his way of leadership. While Jordan seems to inspire his team mates back in Chicago, Kobe sometimes tend to make his team mates look uninterested and weak. Just look at Bynum at times, playing with no energy and enthusiasm. Then there's Pau Gasol, always talking to Kobe like a kid who wants to get his father's recognition. Yes Kobe is a great scorer, and once the best in the league but in this stage of his career, he needs to once again evolve into another kind of player.

Andrew Bynum Needs To Be Patient

I am pretty sure that Between Bynum and Kobe, there's an ego battle going on. It's like Shaq and Kobe dispute all over again. Though this time, Kobe takes Shaq's place while Bynum takes Kobe's place. Kobe is an ageing leader and his talents are declining while Bynum is a surging young man who still continues to develop. Given the facts, I would say that Bynum already wants to take over the team. But he needs to be patient. It will come sooner than later.

Ramon Sessions Needs To Evolve

We can all see that Ramon Sessions can play. He has the skills and the moves on the court. The only thing is that he lacks the knack on defense. Needless to say, Ramon Sessions though maybe not as fast as Russell Westbrook or Derrick Rose can evolve into another kind of player. That's if he works hard enough.

Bring the Nasty In!

We heard it from Coach Popovich. Now the Lakers need to do the same. In recent years, I have never seen the Lakers play with enormous intensity. The only moment where I've seen it is in the dying minutes of Game 7 Finals, between them and the Celtics. They played with so much passion and intensity, they're gang rebounding and everything was in sync that the Boston Celtics had no answers to throw back to the Lakers. It was a really special moment. Setting that aside, the Lakers needs to be that team especially when it comes to the Playoffs. They need a presence, something that could spark the nasty. The good news is that they already have it in them, and his name is Metta World Peace. Metta, back in the days when he was still Ron Artest has a  lot of nasty in him. Whether the fans like it or not, I think he should bring his nasty back so that the Lakers could release the nasty out.

That's it for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the concluding game 7 between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.