Bold predictions for the Lakers — the Most Interesting Team in the World
By Amaar Burton
1. The Lakers will win the NBA championship
Some say the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t even the best team in Los Angeles right now.
The LA Clippers‘ offseason additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to a core that already made the playoffs in 2019 made them the popular favorite to win it all, ahead of their perpetual big brothers in purple and gold.
The city’s “other” team has the reigning Finals MVP and looks like a defensive juggernaut on paper, but the Clippers have their own set of question marks and weaknesses. George’s health and depth at the center and power forward positions stand out — not to mention the historic perception of the Clippers as a second-rate franchise destined to always play second fiddle to the Lakers.
The difference between the Clippers and Lakers? If we lose we will get obliterated in the media and twitter etc. if Clippers lose no matter they’re championship aspirations people will embrace they’re season as a success. Expectations are different for title teams and pretenders
— Chad (@17_Titles) October 1, 2019
Western contenders like the Clippers and Houston Rockets made big moves to improve, while the defending conference champion Golden State Warriors can’t be written off despite losing Kevin Durant.
The Lakers should make the biggest improvement in terms of win-loss record, but they’ll have to build familiarity and find chemistry with so many new faces on the court and on the bench.
They’ll also need to make major improvements defensively. The Lakers finished No. 21 in the league last season in points allowed, but their defense was routinely worse than the numbers indicated. LeBron in particular was too often a casual bystander on defense, when he was already being assigned to guard opposing players who weren’t even big scoring threats.
The Lakers traded away their best perimeter defender when they shipped Lonzo Ball to the Pelicans in the Davis deal, but they did make up for it by signing Avery Bradley, a two-time All-Defensive Team selection.
Davis is a three-time All-Defensive pick who has stated that he wants to win Defensive Player of the Year in 2019-20. Howard’s defensive accolades speak for themselves. New addition Danny Green is a solid “3-and-D” player, and McGee is another lengthy rim protector.
More offensive firepower — especially in the form of Davis and an improved Kyle Kuzma — could also motivate LeBron to do better defensively if he doesn’t believe he has to carry such a big load on the other end.
The Lakers have the talent to compete with anyone. They’ve got two of the 10 best players in the world, one of whom is a proven legend on the game’s biggest stages. They have shooters, defenders, playmakers, size, athletes and good coaching.
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A lot of things have to fall into place just right for any team to win a championship, but the Lakers have as good of a chance as anyone in 2019-20.