Los Angeles Lakers: 2017-18 NBA season preview
Predictions
The Lakers are going to start the season buoyed by excitement and hope, and a middling schedule in the opening weeks could see the team hang onto .500 for a few weeks. With no major health risks on the team and the perfect marriage of point guard and coach, they will win a few games they should in the early going.
Lonzo Ball is going to struggle to score, but his culture will spread throughout the team. Brook Lopez will continue his growth into a 3-point specialist, while Julius Randle will put up a couple of triple-doubles and get the league buzzing about his potential.
Then the team’s lack of defensive force will manifest itself, and they will begin to drop off. The tradeoff between playing the offensively talented Lopez and Randle will be weighed against the defensive value Ivica Zubac or Larry Nance Jr. provide. Ingram will take strides on defense, but not enough to be an effective wing stopper.
Sometime past the turn of the calendar this team will get hot and ride a winning streak back to striking distance of the postseason. They will win six of seven, or eight of 10, and the Lakers will be “back.” Then they will ride a similarly cold stretch back out of reach, and the team will consider off-loading salary ahead of next summer.
By the end of the year the Lonzo Ball hype will have proven to have legs, and Brandon Ingram will be showing flashes of true star potential. Randle will either be gone or understood to be leaving if the team hits in free agency. Caldwell-Pope will have lost some value, while Lopez will have gained some.
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The Lakers will rise in the Pacific Division, finishing above the bottom-2 for the first time in years. Lonzo Ball will be voted onto the First Team All-Rookie Team but will not win Rookie of the Year. They will ultimately land at 33-49, third in the Pacific and 13th in the Western Conference. Baby steps, but important ones for a franchise ready to contend once more.