With so little going in the favor for the Los Angeles Lakers, executive vice president Jim Buss said Thursday it would be foolish to "blow it up" until the team has played enough games together to identify why the team hasn't lived up to expectations.
"We still like this team a lot," Buss said Thursday in an interview with ESPNLA 710 radio in Los Angeles. "How can you not believe in this team? This team is built to win. It's a very, very solid team. We haven't seen them all together and play together for games. In my mind, we would not consider a temporary fix or blow it up. Why blow up something we have a future with?
"It's very difficult to talk this way because we're five games under or six games under .500, and we've dug ourselves a hole. But at the same time, I feel that if we put it together, we can string seven or eight games in a row and dig ourselves out of this hole. If we play with the energy we've seen in the last two games, then I think you go into the playoffs with momentum."
Buss was obviously referring to the Lakers' injury woes this season. Steve Nash has missed seven games with a broken bone in his leg, Dwight Howard has struggled in his recovery from back surgery and Pau Gasol has missed time with assorted leg injuries and is now out with a concussion.
Injuries aside, the Lakers could face be faced with a difficult situation convincing Howard to re-sign if they don't make the playoffs. The Lakers can offer more years and more money than any other team because of the way the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement is structured, but it's no guarantee that Howard will want to stick around after the season has gone poorly.
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