The Los Angeles Lakers continue to struggle this season. They lost at home to the Philadelphia 76ers 103-99 on Tuesday night to fall to 15-16 on the season. Asked after the defeat to explain the team’s lack of energy, Kobe Bryant blamed the squad’s collective age.
“Because we’re old as …,” Bryant said via the Los Angeles Times. “What do you want? We just have to figure out how to play when we don’t have that energy. We have to change things up a little bit defensively, we have to figure out what we want to do offensively, we have to figure out what we want to do on nights we don’t have those legs or have that energy.”
The Lakers had three days off between games, so it’s not like the schedule has been an issue for them. The fact is just what Kobe says — they’re old. Kobe (34) and Steve Nash (38) are two of the older players in the league. So is Antawn Jamison (36). Even Pau Gasol (32) and Metta World Peace (33) are up there too. The Lakers are the third-oldest team in the league. We knew age was going to be an issue for them. It’s not like the roster they constructed is a long-term solution. The question was whether they would be able to put together one or two postseason runs to get another championship. As of now, it’s looking like that’s not going to happen.
