After extreme makeover, predictions for the Los Angeles Lakers
1. The Los Angeles Lakers will win a playoff series … but just one
Under the proposed scenario the Los Angeles Lakers will enter the postseason as the lower-seeded team, forced to begin and potentially end the series on the road. They will not be favored to win and will be facing a strong and proven foe regardless of who it is.
That’s the hill LeBron James and company must climb, but it’s a hill they will climb. Last year was obviously a down year for James, but he still has not lost a playoff series short of the NBA Finals since 2010. When the lights are brightest James is at his best, pushing or even carrying his teams to victory.
He will do that alongside Anthony Davis, a matchup nightmare in the playoffs. Teams that like to downsize in the postseason will be destroyed trying to guard Davis with a wing and teams that stay big will have to defend Davis with a pure center. His two-way impact can take over a series, as it did a few seasons ago against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Winning one series will be difficult and winning more than that may prove to be a bridge too far. This team as currently constructed has no answers for the wings of the LA Clippers and whenever they face that team they will be at a disadvantage.
This team is capable of winning all the way to the NBA Finals, but the sheer volume of good teams in the Western Conference will overtake them.
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This is the first of a likely two- or three-year window for LeBron James to add to his title collection, to bring Davis, Jared Dudley and others their first title, to bring Los Angeles its first basketball title since 2010. His sense of urgency will be as high as it will ever be to win a title, but even then it is warring with the post-basketball career he is putting into place.
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How James balances his priorities and this roster fits together are going to be fascinating to watch. This team is talented enough to go far, but in the end they likely don’t have enough to win four series against elite competition. How that changes over the course of the season is a fascinating storyline to watch.