SDH's 2014/2015 NBA End of Season Worst to First Countdown: 18. Phoenix Suns

2014/2015 Projection: 34-48, fifth place Pacific Division, thirteenth place Western Conference Actual Finish: 39-43, third place Pacific Division, tenth place Western Conference	Projected 2014/2015 Finish 25	Actual 2014/2015 Finish 18
Team Statistics and League Rank Points Scored: 102.4 (11th) Points Allowed: 103.3 (18th) Team FG%: .452 (15th) Opponent’s FG%: .452 (24th) Team FT%: .760(11th) Team Three Point FG%: .341 (21st) Rebounds per game: 43.2 (17th) Opponents rebounds per game: 45.3 (28th) Turnovers per game: 14.5 (26th) Opponents turnovers per game: 15.0 (7th)	Individual Statistical Leaders Scoring (ppg):  Eric Bledsoe (17.0) Rebounds per game:  Alex Len (6.6) Minutes per game: Eric Bledsoe (34.6) Assists per game:  Eric Bledsoe (6.1) Field Goal Percentage: Brandan Wright (.580) Free Throw Percentage: Brandon Knight (.830) Three Point FG Percentage: Marcus Morris (.358) Steals per game: Eric Bledsoe (1.6) Blocked Shots per game:  Alex Len (1.5)
SDH’s Hero to Honor: +Markieff Morris After three years of staying in the shadows and in relative obscurity, Markieff Morris has finally had his come out party to the world posting career highs in scoring, rebounding, steals, and minutes played.  His 16.2 points per game was second behind leading scorer +Eric Bledsoe and ranked among the top ten in power forwards in the league in scoring as well.  In the 82 games he played for the Suns, he posted 10 double-doubles in points and rebounds while putting up double figures in scoring in all but 17 games while posting 15 or more points in half the games he played.  Unfortunately his efforts were not enough for the Suns as the team fell out of the playoff picture yet for the fifth straight year; yet in spite of that, he still gives Suns fans plenty of hope for the future as he has shown plenty of potential to be one of the upper echelon big men in the league.  Now all that remains to be seen is whether or not his teammate and twin brother, Marcus, will follow in his footsteps as he too posted a respectable season as well with 10.4 points and 4.8 boards per game, but was not nearly of an impact as his brother was.	SDH’s Face to Forget: +PJ Tucker  Last season, he was the hidden gem that helped the Suns not only win a shocking 48 games, but within a hair's breath of a playoff berth had it not been for the +Dallas Mavericks slipping past them winning just one game more; however, this season he went from a key contributor to literal dead weight that would soon fall out of the rotation.  PJ Tucker's disappointing downfall started as early as last off season as he was stopped by police for driving WAY above the legally standard blood alcohol level; yet the Suns management still found it prudent to reward him with a lucrative four year 24$ million contract extension.  Sadly, his return did not provide Phoenix with the offensive punch that they expected from him as he would fall out of the starting rotation at the time, his team won nine less game than they did the previous year.  Fortunately for the Suns, PJ's contract is small enough not to hurt their cap situation which can be easily traded if need be and that might be the case as Tucker has become less of strength and more of a liability on a team that suffered from a severe lack of size last season.  More than likely, he will most probably be dealt before next season's trade deadline as the Suns look to recover from what has been a rather disappointing season to say the least.
The 2015 +NBA Season was an absolute embarrassment for the +Phoenix Suns as not only did they fail to make the playoffs, but they manage to do worse than the previous season.  Last year, the Suns were the surprise team in the league as they far exceeded expectations by winning 45 games, and despite missing the playoffs, gave their fans plenty of hope for the following season; however, instead of building upon where they left off, they actually slipped and fell off a few notches.  The season started well enough as the Suns maintained above .500 throughout the first three months of the season and by the end of January sat firmly with a 28-21 record; however, once February rolled around the Suns only managed to win 11 of their last 33 games thus falling out of playoff contention for the fifth straight year.  It was almost as if the team had suddenly run out of gas as its fast paced run and gun offense ran out of ammunition while their defense, which was nothing to write home about anyways, allowed their opponents to not only catch up with them, but actually outpaced them.  Not only did the Suns allow opposing team to outscore them by 0.9 points, but they also permit them to out rebound them by a +2.1 margin--in spite of them both shooting at the same field goal percentage--and turned the ball over as much as their opponents as well. One primary reason for this collapse was the sad fact that the Suns were simply out-matched as they were extremely undersized thus unable to prevent their opponents from scoring in the paint and had no real superstar players to rely on, despite handing over franchise player caliber money to +Eric Bledsoe during the off season.   Bledsoe certainly proved that he was worth the five year 70$ million extension the Suns signed him to as he led the team in scoring, assists, steals, and minutes played per games; however, at the same time, he failed to prove that he was capable of carry a team as his numbers never really stood out among the top point guards in the league thus not bringing the superstar presence that the Suns hoped that he would be.   It did not help that the Suns virtually spent the off season acquiring point guards in the off chance that Bledsoe would not re-sign with them resulting in the team having a glut of five point guards playing while at the same time had little or anything to complement them in the front court which had been all but invisible for most of the season.  Markieff Morris was the sole offensive  presence in the front court, but the big man was anything but the "power forward" that he was listed as he spent most of his time circling the perimeter on offense while providing little if anything on the defensive side on the floor which can be seen by his rather poor rebounding numbers of just 6.2 per game.  As for the rest of the big man corps, they had produced rather shamefully altogether as seven players combined for just 34.4 points and 26.6 rebounds per game--which averages to just about 4.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per player--thus leaving the Suns rather weak in the paint allowing opposing teams to simply have their way with them down low. Upon closer examination, one can certainly determine how the Suns who were doing so well earlier in the season fall so sharply by February--it was simply because the team was just too worn down to keep up with its competition due to its severe lack of a front court presence which primarily provided rim protection, rebounding and overall physical presence in the paint. Despite finishing the season with a rather respectable .452 field goal percentage, much of the Suns' offense came from the perimeter and since there was virtually no one to receive the ball down low and execute in the paint, opposing defenses would simply focus on the Suns' shooters rather than give any attention to anyone below the top of the key. As a result, there was little or no space for attacking the basket since all the lanes were essentially blocked off as there was no one to keep opposing defenses somewhat honest enough to keep an eye on any Phoenix player that happens to be in the paint at any given time.  The lack of front court presence also hurt the Suns in the areas of rebounding and transition defensive because they were simply getting out muscled on the boards and literally had no one to stop the competition from running across the other side of the court and getting easy baskets.  Phoenix's only defensive strategy simply seemed to be outscoring the other team rather than put any defensive pressure on the ball and at least make an effort to try and stop the opposing team from scoring the ball; instead, their plan was to simply out run and out shoot their opponents hoping that the break neck pace would tire them out--a plan that was pretty much doomed to fail because they simply did not have the personnel talented enough to pull it off. 82 games was simply too long of a time span for any team to maintain the break neck run and gun pace that the Suns tried to play, so it was little wonder how they ran out of gas by mid season; plus, it did not help the team's chances if it allowed their opponents to play at the same speed because they will just burn out on both ends of the court.  Sure, what little defense they did show led to finishing seventh in the league in opponents' turnovers, but their efforts were often cancelled out by the team's lack of discipline with the ball which resulted in the Suns committing as many turnovers that the team forced their competition to commit; however, this was not one of the only areas where Phoenix performed well only to shoot themselves in the foot by allowing their opponents to do the same.  Along with finishing with a rather efficient field goal percentage, the Suns also performed well on the offensive boards averaging about eleven per game which allowed them to finish 13th per game; however, their primarily perimeter focused offense and the lack of a presence in the paint led to their opponents being able to grab more rebounds on the defensive end once again cancelling Phoenix's effort on the offensive glass.  To add insult to injury, in spite of their less than stellar defensive effort as can be seen by the points that they allowed along with their opponents' field goal percentage, the Suns did finished a respectable twelfth place in the league in blocked shots per game at 4.7 per game; however, that did not stop their opponents from beating them on the offensive glass and getting put backs into the basket either.  Altogether, it was their lack of size which did them in once the season ended as they literally did not have the presence down low to fight for rebounds as well as produce any scoring in the paint thus one can actually blame the Suns' downfall to the team's front office whose poor decision making left the team undersized and outclassed for the bulk of the regular season. If Phoenix plans to return to the playoff contender status it enjoyed five years ago, the front office will have to do some major work in the off season to try and attract star quality talent because as it stands now, the Suns have none to speak of and with the team at its current state, there is no way that they will see the post season anytime soon.  With their competitors in the Western Conference vastly surpassing them over the past five years, the Suns have plenty of ground to gain back and their window of opportunity continues to close with each passing season as the overall playoff field has been initially set for the next few years so unless something drastic happens within the next few months, folks in Phoenix will find themselves once again on the outside looking in.  In order to do so, both the coaching staff and the front office have to make drastic changes in not only their roster, but their overall basketball philosophy and culture because it seems as if the team has fallen behind the times remaining with an ineffective style of play while not bringing in players needed to add toughness to a roster that is sorely lacking in it.  Unless that happens Suns fans will continue to find their team hovering around mediocrity not getting any better than a team not good enough to make the playoffs, yet not bad enough to garner a better chance at the number one pick in the draft and no one wants that.  Lets hope that the front office gets its act together because after five straight years with no playoff appearances, the Suns' relevancy in the +NBA looks to be fading with each passing season.

SDH's 2014/2015 NBA End of Season Worst to First Countdown: 25. Sacramento Kings

2014/2015 Projection: 36-46, fourth place Pacific Division, twelfth place Western Conference  Actual Finish: 29-53, fourth place Pacific Division, thirteenth place Western Conference	Projected 2014/2015 Finish 24	Actual 2014/2015 Finish 25
Team Statistics and League Rank Points Scored: 101.3 (13th) Points Allowed: 105.0 (28th) Team FG%:  .455 (13th) Opponent’s FG%: .456 (24th) Team FT%: .762 (10th) Team Three Point FG%: .341 (20th) Rebounds per game: 44.2 (9th) Opponents rebounds per game: 41.2 (4th) Turnovers per game: 15.6 (27th) Opponents turnovers per game: 12.5 (24th)	Individual Statistical Leaders Scoring (ppg): DeMarcus Cousins (24.1) Rebounds per game:  DeMarcus Cousins (12.7) Minutes per game: Rudy Gay (35.4) Assists per game:  Darren Collison (5.6) Field Goal Percentage: Ryan Hollins (.646) Free Throw Percentage: Nik Stauskas (.890) Three Point FG Percentage: Omri Casspi (.402) Steals per game: DeMarcus Cousins (1.5) Blocked Shots per game:  DeMarcus Cousins (1.7)
SDH’s Hero to Honor: +DeMarcus Cousins Can someone please give this guy a medal for courage under fire, especially when constantly fighting a never ending losing battle?  That has been the case for DeMarcus Cousins as he, yet again had to shoulder the weight along with the much of the criticism for the sad state of his team; however, after putting up such impressive numbers one has to ask what else can he do?  Looking at his numbers, he is arguably the best center in the NBA and if it was not for the fact that he has been spending his energy trying to resurrect a moribund franchise going nowhere, he would actually be respected by both fans and the media worldwide; sadly, however, that has not been the case as no matter how much he tries, he will never be able to pull this sad Sacramento team out of the pit of quick sand that it created for itself.  To make matters worse, it almost seems as if the franchise is actually working against him thanks to poor personnel decisions which makes the burden even heavier to carry. Add questionable roster choices with the losing and sooner or later, Cousins will have enough and look for the next bus out of that crumbling kingdom.	SDH’s Face to Forget: Pete D'Alessandro Take a good hard look, Kings fans, because this is the man who took what could have been a breakout season for your franchise and sent it crashing into a pile of flames.  It all started in last years draft where he took the eighth pick and wasted it on +Nik Stauskas, a player who failed miserably to even crack the roster, let alone make any impact for the team.  During the offseason, he could have re-signed fan favorite and Most Improved Player Candidate Isaiah Thomas, but chose instead to let him go to the +Phoenix Suns, who only paid just one million more than he originally offered him and could have easily matched. Finally, to cap it all off, he fires Michael Malone, a coach who the team respected and had led the team to its best start in years; however, after a small dip due to the temporary absence of team leader DeMarcus Cousins, instead of patient and waiting out the storm, he chose to rashly fire the coach thus turning the team off kilter for the rest of the season.  Seriously, Kings fans, if you see this man walking in the streets, have your torches and pitchforks ready because this man needs to be stopped before he does any more damage.
Two years ago, it seemed as the sale of the +Sacramento Kings to billionaire Vivek Ranadivé and his commitment to stay in the city of Sacramento was a Godsend to a sports franchise that was virtually on life support and on the verge of collapse; however, three season's later, the Kings still remain in its rather sad state despite its best efforts to revitalize the franchise.  The front office has done its best to reawaken this moribund franchise first by signing DeMarcus Cousins to a multi-year extension making him the face, heart and soul of the franchise while adding solid players around him such as +Rudy Gay and +Darren Collison, among others; however, nothing thus far has reaped any rewards as the Kings find themselves once again wallowing at the bottom of the Western Conference standing making many wonder whether keeping the team in Sacramento was a good idea.  Although many credited Ranadivé and his associate for nobly keeping the team in Sacramento instead of moving to a more lucrative market such as Seattle, one has to ask the question if this noble act was in the best interest of the franchise.  Had it moved, perhaps the new setting and a refreshing new fan base would have infused new life into every facet in the Kings organization--the coaching staff, front office and personnel--thus giving the team a virtual rebirth--the same way that the +Oklahoma City Thunder was reborn after leaving Seattle; instead it continues to spin its tires in the mud going nowhere as it continues to sink further to the point of completely disappearing altogether. If the Kings' direction does not change soon then frustrations from the players, most notably the team's star DeMarcus Cousins, will soon boil over and explode resulting in another disappointing rebuilding attempt and quite possibly the final death blow for this much maligned franchise. At the opening tip off, it looked as if the Kings had finally turned a corner when it virtually shocked the basketball world winning nine of its first fourteen games and finished the first month of the season with a 9-8 record; however the hope of a Sacramento revival were swiftly shot down in the month of December when the team went 4-11 to finish 2014.  Nonetheless, finishing the season 13-19 was far more than the ecstatic home crowd of the +Sleep Train Arena could have wished for even though the chances of reaching the playoffs were slim at best, especially in the Byzantine Western Conference, there was a glimmer of hope that this would be the start of something something special.  Unfortunately, those hopes were quickly flushed down the toilet when the team's GM Pete D'Alessandro made a rash unwise move and fired head coach Michael Malone (12/15/2014), a man who the players greatly respected and was on the verge of changing the team's culture, after the team slipped into a short slump losing seven of nine games. What made the move especially thoughtless and reckless about Allesandro's was not only the fact that it was still early in the season and it would have been wiser to simply wait it out to see if the team can pull themselves out of it, but also the fact that the primary reasons of the Kings' struggle was because the team's star player, DeMarcus Cousins, had been sitting out those game due to illness. The team was only 11-13, which was quite an achievement in itself considering the Kings had come off its best start since forever, and as a result of the rather unjust and ill-advised handling of the coaching situation, Sacramento simply went into free fall and would never recover as the Kings winning just 18 games more to finish the season. To prove how insipid it was for D'Alessandro to fire Malone so early into the season, one can point out that no one expected for Sacramento to even reach .500, let alone contend for the playoffs this season and if one were to extrapolate that 11-13 start of the course of 82 games, then it would have been a great possibility for the Kings to finish with a  38-44 record had Malone stayed. Although it would not have been nearly enough to earn a playoff spot in the West, that certainly would have been a far better improvement from the teams previous seasons where the Kings won an average of just 24 games over the past six years and would have been at least a solid confidence booster for the team to move forward in the future.  Unfortunately any progress or strides that the Kings could have made were completely sabotaged by a shortsighted move made by a witless GM who had severe delusions of grandeur of what his team--that in spite of the obvious talent in its roster, was still trying to feel its way in the NBA--was capable of accomplishing.  Such a thoughtless move must have certainly knocked the wind out of DeMarcus Cousins confidence in the team, who was actually starting to build a rapport with the ousted coach and had already been wary of the team because of its considerable lack of stability at the beginning of his career.  Now Cousins has to bear the weight of yet another disastrous and wasted season despite a rather magnificent individual performance and has nothing to look forward to, but yet another return to the lottery where he is reminded of how much of a wasted season that it was. If the team's fortunes do not change quickly, it will not be surprising to see that by the end of next season,  both Cousins and his agent will be so fed up by the Kings' front office foolishness that they publicly demand to get the hell out of Sacramento thanks to the incompetence of both Ranadivé and D'Alessandro.  From his interviews in the media and his general mannerism, it has become quite apparent that Vivek Ranadivé has no idea what he is doing since taking over the much maligned NBA franchise and despite what he or other Sacramento Kings fans want to believe, Pete D'Alessandro does not have the faintest notion, either.  He wasted the eighth overall pick on a guy who was projected to fall late in the first round, allowed a future star in Isaiah Thomas to leave in free agency despite the fact that he only could have paid just a million more than he offered more to keep him, and this final debacle of Michael Malone's firing. That same player whom he simply discarded not only would go on to have an impressive season with the +Phoenix Suns, but also would go one to lead the +Boston Celtics to a shocking playoff run leaving both him and the organization looking like fools for letting him go in the first place.  Stauskas, who was selected eighth overall in the draft, was an absolute disaster as he did not give the Kings the shooter that they desired him to be shooting just .365 from the field, failed to live up to the lofty expectations put upon on him for this season as he made little or no impact on the court thus further compounding on D'Alessandro's shortcomings as the team's GM. This season had so much potential to be a special one for the Kings because they had all the pieces in place, but poor managerial and personnel decisions robbed the team of achieving anything worthwhile leaving both the players and fans once again wondering if this team will ever return to what it once was in the late nineties and early 2000s.  Both Rudy Gay and Demaruc Cousins have to be frustrated with the direction the team took because at this point in both of their career, neither one of them want to waste the prime years wasting away on a team going anywhere; however, with what has happened thus far, it is doubtful that things will change anytime soon unless there is a severe shake up in the front office (#firepetedalessandro).  Unfortunately, what happened in past cannot be changed and the best thing to for both the players, the fans and the Kings organization to do is pick themselves up, dust themselves off, learn from their past mistakes, prepare for the draft, wait for next season to start, and keep pressing forward.  Hopefully the Kings can turn things around before they really start to get ugly and once again fans in Sacramento will be wondering once again whether or not their team will remain their city, let alone finally make the playoffs.

SDH's 2014/2015 NBA End of Season Worst to First Countdown: 27. Los Angeles Lakers

2014/2015 Projection: 44-38, third place Pacific Division, ninth place Western Conference Actual Finish: 21-61, fifth place Pacific Division, fourteenth place Western Conference	Projected 2014/2015 Finish 17	Actual 2014/2015 Finish 27
Team Statistics and League Rank Points Scored: 98.5 (19th) Points Allowed: 105.3 (29th) Team FG%: .435 (25th) Opponent’s FG%: .466 (29th) Team FT%: .741 (23rd) Team Three Point FG%: .344 (17th) Rebounds per game: 43.9 (12th) Opponents rebounds per game: 44.2(22nd) Turnovers per game: 12.6 (6th) Opponents turnovers per game: 12.4 (25th)	Individual Statistical Leaders Scoring (ppg): Kobe Bryant (22.3) Rebounds per game:  Jordan Hill (7.9) Minutes per game: Kobe Bryant (34.5) Assists per game:  Kobe Bryant (5.6) Field Goal Percentage: Ed Davis (.601) Free Throw Percentage: Nick Young (.890) Three Point FG Percentage: Wayne Ellington (.370) Steals per game: Ronnie Price (1.6) Blocked Shots per game:  Ed Davis (1.2)
SDH’s Hero to Honor: +Jeremy Lin  If there was ever someone who deserved to receive a medal for courage under fire it has to be this guy, because throughout the Lakers' abysmal season, Jeremy Lin had been unfairly put under the microscope by not only the media, but fans as well.  After such a meteoric rise three years ago which made him a international phenomenon, Lin crashed back to Earth hard as he failed time and time again to bring back the "Linsanity;" nevertheless, he continued to push on despite being discarded by the +Houston Rockets and being the constant whipping boy of not just the media and fans, but also his teammate, +Kobe Bryant.  Through it all he remained poised, kept his composure and did not let the negativity rattle him as he did his best to do what he can to contribute in order to keep that sinking ship of a team afloat.  What is even more ominous for him is the fact that with  his contract has expired, all the unfair critiques and negative press will adversely affect his future chances to not only return with the Lakers, but also every other NBA team for that matter.  There is no doubt that "Linsanity" was over before it even started, but strip away all the hype and press fall out, there is still a viable NBA player who can contribute to any team if given the chance to prove himself--hopefully, he will still have one.	SDH’s Face to Forget: +Kobe Bryant  Yeah sure, he finished this season as third all time NBA leader in scoring knocking down his revered idol +Michael Jordan off his pedestal, but that was the only bright spot for a player that looked way over the hill and did more to hurt his team than actually help it.  Kobe Bryant was a complete mess on both ends of the floor--despite him leading the team in scoring, he did so while shooting an abysmal .373 from the field and let us not forget about his presence and effort on the defensive end; however, it was not his poor performance on the court, but his poisonous presence off the court which has placed him in infamy.  Instead of being the teacher and mentor many hoped he would be encouraging his teammates and providing a comforting presence in the team's most desperate hour, he was actually the source of all the negativity and simply made an already bad situation worse.  In the locker room and on the practice floor, he would constantly berate and belittle his teammates while providing little or nothing else and head coach Byron Scott simply allowed him to continue with his declining play and his poisonous attitude until Bryant finally decided to shut it down after playing just 35 games.  Perhaps it is time for both the Lakers and Kobe to finally part ways, finally buy him out using that league mandated four year stretch provision as a going away present, because it has become strikingly apparent that staying another season will simply cause more harm than good.
The 2014 NBA Season must have been the most traumatic in recent memory not only to +Los Angeles Lakers fans, but also to the sporting world in general as they all say this once great titan not only fall from grace but crash and burst into flames leaving many feeling violated and emotionally damaged.  First the team lost +Dwight Howard as a free agent after virtually selling its soul in the off season, then had to endure +Kobe Bryant missing that entire season, and finally had to trudge through the season beaten and worn down to finish with a franchise low 27 wins; however like true champions, the team would not take this sitting down.  That's why team General Manager Mitch Kupchak went about overhauling the team replacing the tired and worn down +Pau Gasol, who left for the +Chicago Bulls, and picked up +Carlos Boozer, a player who the Bulls waived in order to get Gasol and also acquired some much needed fresh blood picking up +Jeremy Lin in a trade with the +Houston Rockets that also netted them another first round pick and an underrated yet effective Ed Davis for a rather minimal cost.  Add the re-signing of fan favorite Nick Young, as well as the return of the Black Mamba himself, the Lakers looked to bounce back from that abysmal season and although they may not make the post season, at least they could not do any worse that they did last year.  The probability of such a storied sports brand with such a rich history, let alone any other team. finishing worse than 27 wins that the team scrounged up last year would be slim at best as there was nowhere else to go but up . . . or so everyone thought. Fast forward to this season and what was once seen as a statistical improbability became a sick and tragic reality as the predictable Lakers comeback to the NBA spotlight had not only once again fallen short, but actually managed to dip even lower with one of the most recognizable sport brands in the world winning six games less than they did the previous season.  What many considered as the team's rock bottom point actually became the precursor of an even more devastating collapse as fans of the Purple and Gold watched in horror as their team went from being extremely bad to even worse than they have even seen their once proud team before.  The supposed moves that were supposed to uplift the team simply fell apart as Boozer proved his former team right for casting him aside as the three time All Star would have quite possibly the worst season in his career while ironically, the guy who they replaced him for ended up having his career revived in the Windy City.  Jeremy Lin proved once again that "Linsanity" was finally dead and was never going to be resuscitated while Nick Young, after having such a heroic performance in 2014 that made him not only a fan favorite, but a leader on the team, completely vanished over the course of the season.  The final blow came with Kobe Bryant, who after signing a two year extension paying him up to 50$ million, arrived onto the court a shell of his former greatness, became more a hindrance than  a help both on and off the court, and exited early unceremoniously due to injury leaving every one who had idolized him at one one time or another with a bad taste in their mouths. In a season where no one thought it could get any lower that it already was, the LA Lakers managed to surpass even the worst projections and expectation turning a once proud franchise that can be considered as a model for all professional sports teams to following into an absolute disgrace and laughing stock.  As that was not shameful enough, the Lakers were forced to watch their onetime doormat of a rival, the +Los Angeles Clippers, take away their title as Kings of Los Angeles with their horrid looking red, white and blue uniforms, and used the team that had oppressed and had stood in their shadow for so long them for so long not only to wipe their feet, but also their backsides at the same time.  Even the lowly +Sacramento Kings, a team that has spent so much time wallowing at the bottom of the Pacific Division standings for the past few years, managed to use the Lakers as a stepping stone from out of the bottom leaving a team who no one thought could ever suffer such indignity to wallow in the same pit of despair that they had so long avoided.  Just a couple years before, fans and the media would have considered finishing with a low playoff seeding in the west and an early first round exit as the lowest that the Lakers could ever fall, but sadly this fall from grace is only the beginning for this once proud franchise that was so impervious to damage that it could have been considered as infallible.  Not even the prospect of having a the potential of acquiring the number one overall pick in this summer's upcoming draft or having the most cap space and money to woo free agents in the off season can offset the earth shattering impact from the Lakers' fall from grace nor will they be able to regain their once prominent role among the NBA's elite anytime soon, either.        The whole landscape of the Western Conference has completely flipped over placing teams that were once on the top of the mountain crushed under mounds of dirt and rock while teams who barely received any daylight and such as the Clippers and the +Golden State Warriors have emerged in the fore front with the spotlight now shining on them.  The Lakers will have to dig their way out form under miles of rubble and debris and in a conference where it took 45 wins to get the eighth and final playoff berth in the West, do not expect them to break through and see daylight anytime soon because already, there are five or six teams that have placed themselves firmly in the Western Conference playoff landscape and they do not look to be moving away from their spots anytime soon.   The Western Conference resembles a relatively inert caste system where power rest in very few hands--in this case, the six or seven team that have at least 50 wins to make the playoffs--and the rest who are simply fighting for the scraps that have been left over; ironically, however, it was the Lakers themselves whom created and profited greatly from this system over the past few decades, and now the time has come for some poetic justice after having so many opponents crushed under their feet for so long.  Sadly, for now, all that they have left to stay somewhat relevant in the league and in the minds of sports fans is their illustrious history and lasting legacy they have imprinted on the sports world; however, if they rely on that, they run the chance of falling into the same trap as their former longtime rival +Boston Celtics have sadly slipped into--with both the organization and fans being stuck so far in the past that they never move forward. It took centuries for the World's Greatest Empires such as Rome, Greece, the Great Chinese Dynasties, and the Ottomans to come crashing down and just like them, the Lakers lie in the rubble now wiped away by the annals of history probably never to be seen again; however, unlike those past empire that grew too big and ending up crashing upon their own weight, the Lakers have a chance to rebuild themselves and hopefully return to the greatness and acclaim that they once relished.  Unfortunately, looking at the league now, especially almost impregnable Western Conference, it will take a very long time, perhaps even a decade for the Lakers to return to its once opulent position it once enjoyed, and it will take a lot of patience on the part of their fans, as well as plenty of trial and error on the part of the team's front office and coaching staff for that team to even have a chance to do so.   Once thing for certain, it will not happen under the tenure of current coach Byron Scott, who proved to be absolutely awful, but may stay longer than he should because of the organization's unwillingness to let go of the past and accept the fact that the time for their team has long passed.  Another dead weight that also keeps the Lakers tethered to the past and unable to remake themselves is that 25$ million dollar dinosaur that refuses to let go of the reins and the reality that he is no longer among the league's elite players anymore.  Until they can shed all that baggage, it will just be one bad season after the other with fans clutching to the past because they no longer have anything to hope for in the future.

SDH's 2014/2015 Worst to First Countdown for the First "Slap-mester" (Oct/Nov/Dec): 26. Los Angeles Lakers

+Los Angeles Lakers  Win/Loss Record as of December 31st, 2014:  10-22, fifth place Pacific Division, 14th Place Western Conference	Projected 2014/2015 Finish 17 Current Rank as of December 31st 26
Team Statistics and League Rank as of December 31st,  2014:  Points Scored: 102.3 (12th) Points Allowed: 109.2 (30th) Team FG%: .436 (23rd) Opponent’s FG%: .478 (29th) Team FT%: .746 (17th) Team Three Point FG%: .365 (9th) Rebounds per game: 42.6(14th) Opponents rebounds per game: 45.0 (28th) Turnovers per game: 12.2 (7th) Opponents turnovers per game: 13.6 (17th)	Individual Statistical Leaders as of December 31st, 2014: Scoring (ppg): Kobe Bryant (24.1) Rebounds per game:  Jordan Hill (7.9) Minutes per game: Kobe Bryant (35.2) Assists per game:  Kobe Bryant (5.2) Field Goal Percentage: Ed Davis (.630) Free Throw Percentage:  Nick Young (.900) Three Point FG Percentage: Jordan Clarkson (.455) Steals per game: Ronnie Price (1.5) Blocked Shots per game: Ed Davis (1.3)
Worst of the Class: Byron Scott So what do you have to say for yourself Coach Scott? You came into your former team with all smiles promising a new day, with a renewed devotion to defense and new culture of accountability; however none of that has happened thus far.  As of now the Lakers rank near the bottom of the league in points and rebounds allowed as well as opponents' field goal percentage thus making them arguably the worst defensive team in the league.  On the offensive end, the team has looked confused and out of sync as he has chosen not to commit to a particular set making it absolutely impossible for his players to find any kind of rhythm thus forcing Kobe Bryant to put more on his plate than he has already has.  Although many Lakers fans as well as the media have given him the benefit of the doubt, it will all be for naught as Scott will prove once again what so many people have already discovered--that he is a complete fraud and hopefully he will expose himself as one once and for all.	First of the Class: Kobe Bryant Many pundits and sports analysts had written off Kobe Bryant at the start of the regular season due to his injuries that had him sit out two seasons and the fact that he was getting paid more than any other player in the league despite that and the fact that he is 36 years old to boot.  Nevertheless, despite all the talk from his detractors, Kobe has silenced all of his doubters as he bounced back to post an excellent season thus far leading his team in scoring, assists and minutes played per game.   Even while his team struggles, he has shown the same poise and confidence as if he were on a championship team never showing any signs of frustration or has any way lashed out on his coach or teammates.  What's even more impressive is that despite his team's dire situation, he has still managed to add to his already everlasting legacy as he surpassed his idol, +Michael Jordan, to become the third all time leading scorer in NBA history.  Even though this season can be chalked up for a loss, no one can ever doubt or deny the greatness of the Black Mamba as he continues to prove that he is still one of the greatest players to have ever walked on a basketball court.
This was supposed to be a year of redemption as the storied Los Angeles Lakers looked to bounce back from their franchise worst 28 win season as they came into this one with a new coach, new additions, and a healthy roster.  There was plenty of excitement for this season as the Purple and Gold welcomed the man who should be credited for saving the league four years ago in +Jeremy Lin  as well as two time All Star +Carlos Boozer, who had a proven winning history while playing for both the +Utah Jazz and +Chicago Bulls.  Fans also welcomed back Mr. Swaggy P himself, Nick Young, who had helped carry last season's struggling team leading it in scoring as well as becoming a favorite both to fans and the media.  The same can be said for other fan favorites such as Jordan Hill, Wesley Johnson, Ryan Kelly, and Robert Sacre--players who stepped up playing in bigger roles than they have ever experienced or expected to experience earning them the respect of not only the fans, but also the media as well.  Together with the anticipated return of the "Black Ma Mamba," as well as the welcoming a Laker alumnus and former champion Byron Scott as the team's head coach, it looked as if the Purple and Gold would once again  return to relevance making that unsightly blemish on their pristine legacy last season a mere aberration and one time affair; however, upon the start of the 2014/2015 regular season, last season looked less like an aberration, and more like an unfortunate sign of things to come. The Lakers came into season looking for redemption, but instead found tragedy and pain as they would get steamrolled in their first five games losing by an average margin of fifteen points allowing their opponent to drop an average of 116.8 points while shooting nearly .500 from the field.  To make matters worse, this team which welcomed an influx of young talent and veteran experience looked completely amateurish and quite unbecoming of one that made what many considered at the time as rather impressive moves during the off-season.  LA managed to stop the bleeding with an impressive win against the +Charlotte Hornets (11/9/2014) and despite losing the two games that followed against the +Memphis Grizzlies (11/11/2014)  and +New Orleans Pelicans (11/12/2014), the Lakers still put up a solid effort losing by just five against Memphis and by seven against the Pelicans.  Unfortunately, any signs of that effort being signs of a steady improvement were dashed when the would lose rather convincingly against the +San Antonio Spurs  (11/14/2014) and get trampled by the +Golden State Warriors, who managed to score 136 points on them (11/16/2014).  The Lakers would then finish the month of November winning just three of their last seven games beating the +Atlanta Hawks (11/18/2014), +Houston Rockets (11/19/2014) and +Toronto Raptors (11/30/2014), but would allow the +Dallas Mavericks to crush them by 34 points and allow them to score an unfathomable 140 points (11/21/2014). It was awful enough to witness the Lakers start the +NBA season winning just five games, but what made things even worse was the fact that in all of those games, they only held their opponents under 100 points three times--two of which they lost.  Los Angeles also allowed their opponents to score more than 110 points in nine of the 17 games that they played in November thus showing a complete disregard to any effort on the defensive end whatsoever--something which incoming coach Byron Scott declared would be remedied; however, that has certainly not happened.  In fact, one can go as far to say that the defense is just as bad if not worse that it was last season when Mike D'Antoni coached the team and at least he had some sort of excuse as the Lakers were severely depleted due to injuries to a point where in one game, a player was allowed to play despite having fouled out due to a league rule that stated that a team has to have a minimum of eight players to play.  On the other hand, Scott virtually has no excuse for the team's shameful display of defense considering he inherited a far deeper and more talented and experienced lineup than his predecessor Looking at the poor state of the team, one has to ask whether GM Mitch Kupchack made the right choice in hiring Scott--a coach whose success has been attained not so much by his coaching skills and ability to get through to his players, but the fact that he had the luxury of having future hall of famers in Jason Kidd and +Chris Paul playing for him. The Lakers seemed to show signs of life in the month of December as they started it winning four of their first seven games; however, as with everything else that has happened, the Lakers would win the first game against an equally dreadful +Detroit Pistons team (12/2/2014), but then lose horrifically against the +Washington Wizards (12/3/2014), +Boston Celtics (12/5/2014) and the Pelicans by an average of 16 points.  In those three massacres, the Lakers allowed their opponents to not only score 109 points but also shoot .504 and out-rebound them by an average margin of 15; nonetheless, the Purple and Gold managed to redeem themselves with three impressive wins against the +Sacramento Kings (12/9/2014), in a rematch with the Spurs (12/12/2014), and a hard fought road win against the +Minnesota Timberwolves (12/14/2014).  Unfortunately, the thrill of victory was quickly snuffed out by the +Indiana Pacers (12/15/2014) as the Lakers allowed one of the lowest scoring and worst shooting teams to score 110 points and shoot .482 from the field--which is pretty sad considering that Indy finished 2014 averaging just 94.5 points and shot just .431 from the field.  LA would lose the two games that followed, but at least those losses were far more respectable with one of them being a one point heart breaker versus the +Oklahoma City Thunder (12/19/2014) and Sacramento by just seven points (12/21/2014); however, they did manage to nab an early Christmas present with a win against the league's best Warriors (12/23/2014), but had the holiday magic stomped out of them with a 20 point blowout at the +United Center at the hands of the Bulls on Christmas Day.  At least LA ended the year on a high note with a road win against the +Denver Nuggets (12/30/2014) after losing the previous two against the Mavericks (12/26/2014) and +Phoenix Suns (12/28/2014). Nonetheless, it is pretty obvious that after the first three months of the season, the Lakers will not only repeat that dreadful performance from last season, but might actually end up far worse than the previous team despite having greatly upgraded during the off season. Both Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin--two players who were expected to have major impacts and bring the team back to respectability--have failed miserably to live up to expectations and have lost their place in the team's starting five.   Lin has been the biggest disappointment not only Lakers fans, but to those who have religiously followed him hoping that he would return to the level he played that garnered him so much acclaim and a humongous pay raise thanks to Houston Rockets.  Now instead of justifying the lucrative contract and possibly giving himself a chance to possibly earning himself another one, he is now viewed as a dead weight expiring contract and will probably never see that sort of money again or even be signed by another NBA team.  The same can be said for Boozer, who instead of showing how much of a mistake it was for the Bulls to choose +Pau Gasol over him letting him go via the league's amnesty provision, has only justified Chicago's position as both his production and his value as a player continue to slide. As for the rest of the team, they have essentially also been either missing in action or completely null and void as neither the newcomers or the returning ones from last season have really stepped up their games to provide adequate support for the team's aging star, Kobe Bryant.  Nick Young continues to maintain his status as fan favorite and darling of the local media, his contributions on the court have been marginal at best with his poor shooting despite him being second on the team in scoring.  Wesley Johnson, who many expected to have a breakout year, continues to prove how much of a draft day bust failing to live up to his being selected fourth overall in the 2010 NBA Draft, while at the same time fellow castaway turned contributor Xavier Henry, stopped playing after nine games and was subsequently waived.  Robert Sacre also went from being a player who  showed plenty of promise last season to becoming a complete non factor on both ends of the floor while Ryan Kelly, a player who earned a place in the heart of the Lakers faithful due to his hustle and gritty play, has also found himself shunned due to his less than stellar play.  Rookie and future fixture of the franchise, +Julius Randle, fractured his tibia in his first game and was lost for the season while Jordan Clarkson, the other highly touted rookie who was considered a draft day steal when the Lakers grabbed him in the second round, has played very sparingly thus far  spending most of his freshman year in the +NBA D League. The only players who are even worth mentioning other than Bryant are big men Jordan Hill and Ed Davis as they have been the only players on this dysfunctional Lakers team that have played at a high level on both ends of the court while earning coach Scott's confidence and trust.  Davis has certainly made his presence felt as a banger and physical presence in the paint earning him a spot on the team's starting five replacing Boozer, who has seemingly fallen out of favor with the team. At the same time, Hill, who may be a free agent at the end of the season if the team decides to rescind their option to keep him next season, may be the sole player worth salvaging out of this sad crew as he has thus far posted career highs in both points (12.0) and rebounds (around eight) per game.  As always, Kobe continues to be the team's focal point and continues to prove his skeptics wrong; however, despite him leading in points, assists, and minutes played, his game has fallen at the waist side as well with his less than stellar field goal percentage that went from .404 in October to .348 by the end of December.  His effort and desire to play even a modicum of good defense has also continues to disintegrate making his presence on the court more of a hindrance than a help; nevertheless, let us not forget to mention that Kobe has really nothing else to play for as he already has shattered every milestone cementing his place as not only the greatest Laker of all time, but also one of the greatest who has ever played the game of basketball. With all that has happened thus far in the season and if their performance can be seen as a sign of things to come, it is safe to say that the playoffs are by now absolutely unreachable at this point and this season can be written off as a lost cause for the Los Angeles Lakers.  Coming into opening tip off, it looked as if there would be a chance to see the Purple and Gold rise again, if not to the post season then at least bounce back from that embarrassment of a season and finish somewhat respectable by season's end.  Unfortunately, that has not come to pass as this once proud franchise that had so much promise and hope coming into the regular season completely fell apart upon stepping onto the basketball court with the future looking even more bleak with each passing game. In a Western Conference that is practically clogged from the bottom to the top, Laker fans may have to wait far longer for their team to return to the stature it once enjoyed and may have to endure more heart-wrenching seasons such as this one.  At least through the turmoil, they can hold solace in the fact that once this season finally comes to a close, their team will have the high draft picks and the salary cap space to come back stronger than ever; for now, however, they will have to grit their teeth and endure watching their team continue to fall from grace until they inevitably hot rock bottom.