LOS ANGELES LAKERS: 47.5 WINS – OVER
Key Additions
- Jalen Hood-Schifino (draft)
- Jaxson Hayes (free agency)
- Taurean Prince (free agency)
- Gabe Vincent (free agency)
- Christian Wood (free agency)
Key Subtractions
- Dennis Schroder
- Malik Beasley
- Troy Brown Jr.
- Lonnie Walker
- Lebron’s status as best player on the team
Rotation
- Guards
- D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino
- Wings
- Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Max Christie
- Forwards
- LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt
- Bigs
- Anthony Davis, Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood
Random thoughts, opinions, comments, declarations, queries, editorials, etc.
The Lakers’ ‘22-’23 season was a tale of 2 halves. A nightmarish first half, caused in large part by Russell Westbrook’s inability to play basketball when the ball itself isn’t in his hands. His poor shooting only compounded it, leading to LeBron & AD losing faith in him. As the deadline approached, LeBron was basically declaring publicly that he wanted Russ to be traded for Kyrie. And, though it wasn’t for Kyrie, Russ was finally shipped out.
However, the Lakers finished 16-7 after the deadline, despite LeBron missing time. The surprise here was the rise of Austin Reaves, who essentially outplayed Russell Westbrook, D’Angelo Russell, Troy Brown Jr., Lonnie Walker, Kendrick Nunn, and Malik Beasley to entrench himself as the clear cut 3rd option after ‘Bron & AD. Additionally, Schroder showed the league that he can still play big minutes on a playoff team, becoming the best perimeter defender on the team (and eventually a nice new contract from the Raps).
No one would have predicted the Lakers would’ve gotten all the way to the WCF. It’s a compliment to Darvin Ham, ‘Bron, AD, Reaves, and, most of all, Rob Pelinka, who somewhat redeemed himself after the disastrous Westbrook deal. And he wasn’t done either. The Lakers had an amazing offseason, bringing back Reaves & Rui on team-friendly deals, and then grabbing Gabe Vincent, fresh off averaging 12.7ppg in 22 post-season games last year while starting for the Heat in the NBA Finals. Expect some regression to the mean for opponent’s 3P%, but the Lakers will be a threat once again this year.
Last Year – Interesting Stats
- 1st in the NBA in FTs attempted
- 1st in the NBA in FTs allowed
- 2nd in opponents 3P% allowed
- 16-7 record post all-star break
- LeBron has played 278 out of 410 reg. season games since becoming a Laker.
- LeBron played in more games with the Heat (294) in 4 seasons than with the Lakers (278) in 5 seasons
Keys to Success
No More Russell Westbrick, Austin Reaves continues his rise, Rui & Gabe prove the playoffs weren’t a fluke, AD wins Defensive Player of the Year
Potential Obstacles
AD’s health, LeBron starts to finally lose the battle vs Father Time, D’Angelo Russell plays juuuuuuust well enough to keep his starting PG job, Austin Reaves’ defense becomes a massive liability
Hot takes
- LeBron plays in less than 50 games this season
- Anthony Davis plays in 65+ while being named to an All-NBA team
- AD wins DPOY
- Christian Wood is released before the end of the season
- Austin Reaves is seen at a club in West Hollywood with a Kardashian
STANDINGS PREDICTION: 5TH IN THE WEST
