The Los Angeles Lakers are off to a rocky 3-5 start this season, and a former NFL linebacker isn’t holding back his criticism. Ex-NFL Emmanuel Acho, who later turned into a sports analyst, blasted LeBron James and the Lakers for not being competitive enough this season. Acho’s critique came right after the Lakers’ first few games, where he noted the team’s struggles even when their star players were on the court. 

He pointed out that Anthony Davis and LeBron James miss an average of 25 and 28 games per season, respectively. This means the Lakers are without their key players for roughly 60 games.

The Lakers are not competitive enough, says Emmanuel

The issue, according to Acho, is not just the absence of these players, but the team’s inability to stay competitive without their star players, LeBron and AD. He compared the Lakers’ situation to other NBA teams, the Denver Nuggets and the Golden State Warriors, which performed well despite missing key players like Jamal Murray and Draymond Green in the recent games. 

“But AD doesn’t play, and all of a sudden it’s like y’all getting blown out by the Rockets… LeBron James, you can’t even stay competitive enough to play meaningful minutes in the fourth quarter. It’s not making sense to me,” Acho lamented. The Rockets won with 129-94 points, in which LeBron only scored 17 points after playing for 27 minutes. 

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Acho’s concern is not just about the Lakers’ current performance, but also about the long-term implications for this season. “I am incredibly extremely concerned about this Lakers 3-5 start because the Lakers are wasting a season. For LeBron James, you are wasting a season,” he said. 

The Lakers have a better start this season than last year’s 

Acho rightly pointed out that the Lakers are failing to compete with the legitimate contenders in the West. However, this year’s starting record is still better than last year’s. The team started the 2022-23 season with a 0-5 record, which was also LeBron’s first time 0-5 record, since his rookie season with the Cavs, in 2003. 

Despite the rocky start, the Lakers managed to end the season with a 43-39 record. Their journey ended in the Western Conference finals, where they lost to the Denver Nuggets 0-4. 

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The Lakers’ poor performance has also started a debate if they need another star on their roster. Many thought their third star was Austin Reaves, but there is only one way to find that out, i.e. to break the losing streak. 

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