Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons they will win the 2020-21 NBA title
2. Roster additions bring offensive firepower
Some NBA champions rest back on their laurels in the offseason, trusting in continuity and the formula that brought them success in the first place. The Los Angeles Lakers, recognizing that the league was arming themselves around them, did not play it safe but instead made a number of changes across the roster.
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The most significant ones came at either end of the positional spectrum. The Lakers traded for Dennis Schroder, who had a breakout campaign alongside Chris Paul in Oklahoma City a season ago. He brought scoring and playmaking juice from the point guard position, taking some of the load off of LeBron James’ shoulders and raising their regular season floor.
At center, the Lakers used their mid-level exception on Montrezl Harrell, a scoring dynamo inside, taking him away from the crosstown rival LA Clippers. He has averaged 21.1 points per-36 minutes as the Lakers deploy him strategically to maximize his impact.
These players were brought in to replace more defensive-minded options. Danny Green was traded out to bring in Schroder, while Harrell’s bench center role replaced Dwight Howard’s. Even the recently-signed Ben McLemore juices their shooting as he largely replaces Wesley Matthews.
LeBron James is one of the greatest offensive forces the league has ever seen, and Anthony Davis can score from all three levels as one of the modern NBA’s best bigs. The pieces assembled around them are more potent offensively, raising their floor and giving the team multiple options against tough postseason defenses. This Lakers team is more deadly than the one that won the title a year ago.