LOS ANGELES – Coaching in the NBA or any professional sport these days is a thankless job. The head coach is almost always the fall guy whenever things go wrong even stuff out of their control like injuries. Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers is no exception.

Walton has seemingly been on the hot seat ever since things started to go wrong for the Lakers following LeBron James' groin injury on Christmas Day. Despite being as high as fourth place in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles franchise has been on a steady decline and will miss the playoffs for a record sixth straight season.

Although Walton is arguably not to blame due to the large amount games his players missed due to injury, the 39-year-old's job is in danger as his team limps to the finish line this season. On Thursday, the Lakers hosted Walton's former team in the Golden State Warriors who proceeded to crush the massively shorthanded squad right out of the gate and eventually went on to win convincingly at the Staples Center.

After the game, Walton spoke to the media and was asked about whether he ever thinks about how differently this season could've gone if the majority of his team didn't go down with injuries.

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“No. The thought does cross my mind occasionally, but I don’t give it any power any time,” Walton said. “It’s pointless to think about. The only thing that is worth spending time thinking on is what we can do better, how do we prepare for the next team, things that have to do with where we are at right now. So, I just push that thought out and keep moving forward and stay present.”

With at one point being a serious threat in the highly competitive West, it's only human to wonder what the team could've done had they been at full strength for the majority of the 2018-19 campaign. Not only is that reasonable thing to think about, but the fact the end result of the season will likely cost Walton his job has to weigh on the young head coach.

Speculation has run rampant over the last couple of months about Walton's job status and possible replacements lining up to be his successor in the event Jeanie Buss and company decide to part ways with him. All signs continue to point to Walton's dismal with a lot of viable options being rumored to be considered to be the next in line like Jason Kidd, Tyronn Lue, and Juwan Howard, but nothing is set in stone as the team tries to finish out another forgettable year.