Time To Start Losing Faith In Lakers?

Just when you think the Los Angeles Lakers might start to rise, they lose again.

Not that anyone expected them to go undefeated — but most people expected them to be better than average. That doesn’t seem to be the case. The Lakers, for the most part, have had an uneven season that appears as if it’s headed nowhere fast.

“I’m losing faith,” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said on First Take one day after the Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns.

Smith then went on to list the reasons that there is little margin for error for LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers in the Western Conference.

Namely, the defending champion Denver Nuggets still reside there. So do the much-improved Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder. Not to mention the likes of the Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, and oh yeah, Kevin Durant and the Suns.

We haven’t even mentioned the Golden State Warriors, who are always a danger to pull their act together.

So no, the Lakers don’t look like they will be able to contend with some of those heavyweights. Can that change? Maybe. But count Stephen A. among those who have some serious doubts.

The Lakers (31-29) sit in ninth place in the Western Conference, just a half-game ahead of the 10th-seeded Warriors.