Week 3 NBA power rankings: 14. Los Angeles Lakers
Last week: (2-2) – vs. HOU (W), vs. HOU (W), vs. OKC (L), @ POR (L)
Offensive rating: 107.4 (14th in NBA)
Defensive rating: 107.2 (16th in NBA)
Los Angeles Lakers fans would have never expected to see their favorite team this far down in any power rankings when the year started, but here we are.
LeBron James is injured at the moment, and Anthony Davis left the game last night due to a non-COVID-related illness. That game resulted in a blowout loss to the Trailblazers.
On top of that, Russell Westbrook still continues to struggle mightily. The Lakers are getting all of the bad parts of Westbrook’s game right now, and not much of the good.
Instead of still being the defensive juggernaut they have been in the past couple of years, they are actually a subpar defense. They continue to slide in the power rankings.
Season outlook: Realistically speaking, the Lakers still have the star power to make a deep playoff run. That being said, they have some serious issues they need to iron out. If they want to have any chance of winning a title with this Big 3, things have to change in a big way moving forward.