The Los Angeles Lakers signed superstar LeBron James last summer, and he brought a ton of expectations with him. With fans expecting the Lakers to be one of the title contenders this year, a lot of pressure has been placed on the shoulders of head coach Luke Walton.
There have been rumblings about Walton's job security for much of the season, and especially lately thanks to the Lakers' struggles without LeBron. Still, Walton is trying to make the most out of what he has, despite the fact that the team's celebrated young talent hasn't been impressive as of late.
A lot of people, from the front office to former and current Lakers players, have expressed their support for Walton, and one of them is veteran point guard Rajon Rondo.
Rondo, whom the Lakers acquired this past offseason as a free agent, told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne that he has been really impressed with Walton and the job he has done so far:
“He's competitive as hell, but I think the way he's handling this year, I don't know if I could do a better job,” Rondo told ESPN. “It's tough: He's having to teach at the same time as he's trying to get wins, managing egos and dealing with vets and leadership.
With the arrival of LeBron, Walton's job became more complicated. Last season, the expectations were to just help the young guys develop. This year, that has changed. He's now faced with a daunting task of leading and helping this team make a deep run into the playoffs.
And doing it without James just makes things more difficult.
Los Angeles is in danger of losing its playoff spot to either the Utah Jazz or Sacramento Kings. The Lakers are currently seated in the eighth seed, but their next three games are against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, and Golden State Warriors, and based on how they performed over their last four games, these next few games will be really tough.
The same thing can be said for Walton, as all eyes are on him as he tries to figure everything out for his team. Only time will tell if he will be able to help them survive this recent slump in time before LeBron comes back.
For right now, he has the support of everyone else to keep him motivated.
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