The King Returns To His Throne
- Curtis Lo
- Oct 23, 2019
- 6 min read
Written by Curtis Lo (@CLoading51)
Season Projection: Contender (NBA or Conference Finals)
Predicted Record: 55-27
The Los Angeles Lakers are going to be very, very good this year. Any team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis on its roster is going to contend for an NBA championship. And this year, for the first time since KD joined the Warriors, we won’t know who is going to be representing the Western Conference in the NBA Finals before the season starts. The league is wide open, with multiple teams possessing a strong case to win the coveted Larry O’Brien trophy. The Lakers are near the top of that list.
The Jazz, Rockets and Nuggets are all formidable forces in the West and each should win over 50 games and make it very difficult for the Lakers to secure home court advantage, but the likely foe which will prevent them from reaching the Finals are their home town rivals, the Clippers. Assuming both duos stay healthy, we should see the first LA-based Western Conference Finals. If there is an area in which the Clippers have the edge, it would be depth. With quality bench pieces such as Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, there is talent all along the rotation. This is something which the Lakers simply do not have. But what the Lakers do have is Anthony Davis. Can anyone stop him?
Key Players: Anthony Davis
With LeBron entering his 17th season, the Lakers will look for LeBron to take a step back in order to lessen the load on his body and hopefully prolong his seemingly never-ending prime. Luckily for him, he has one of the top 5 best players in the world on his team. Anthony Davis is a freak of nature. No one in the league really compares to Davis in terms of what he can do on both ends of the court. Davis can punish his opponents inside, stretch the floor, erase shots at the rim…the list goes on and on. The hope is that Davis can take another monumental leap forward and become “the man” for this squad. However, the primary concern that has been discussed throughout Davis’ career is his injury history. He is very prone to picking up niggling injuries and any extended stretch out could be dire for the Lakers. Last season their playoff chances fell apart once LeBron injured his groin, and that was when they had Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart on their roster. This year a similar injury could be disastrous. For the first time in his career, Anthony Davis has the chance to genuinely compete for an NBA championship. It’s time to prove he has what it takes.
Wildcards: Kyle Kuzma
While the team will be carried by LeBron and AD, how much of a leap they can make is dependent on Kuzma’s development. Arguably, out of the former young Lakers core, Kuzma performed the best alongside LeBron. This very well could have been why the Lakers reportedly fought so hard to keep him in the Anthony Davis trade. Kuzma has been a streaky shooter over the course of his career so far, shooting 36.6% from three-point land as a rookie and 30.3% last season. If he can shoot around that 36.6% mark this season, teams will be forced to respect him, which will help stretch the floor for AD and LeBron. And if either one of them gets injured, it will be dependent on Kuzma to step up and lead the team in the scoring department. While he is far from the finished product, he has occasionally shown the ability to create shots for himself and play-make for others. A leap in this area would also be a huge boost as this Lakers squad lacks players who can create their own shot on a consistent basis.
Strengths: The Duo of LeBron and AD
Obviously the most important players for the Lakers this season is the two-headed monster of LeBron and AD. Potentially barring the other duo in the adjacent locker room in Staples Center, they are the best one-two punch the league has to offer. The level of success achieved by this team will depend on these two performing at their peak for the majority of the regular season and particularly in the playoffs. Any injury to either of these two will be a significant blow, given the serious lack of depth in this Lakers squad. While players like Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jared Dudley can play their roles admirably, they cannot be expected to be more than they have been throughout their careers – complementary players.
A point to note is how symbiotic their two skill sets are. From the brief glimpses we’ve had in the preseason, they’ve looked unstoppable. Defences will have to pick their poison when they come across the daunting proposition that is an AD/LeBron pick and roll. Individually, they are arguably the best playmaker and the best roll man in the whole league. AD’s ability to make passes following a roll further accentuates the threat they pose, as he can very capably lob it to JaVale McGee if the defence overcommits. And there aren’t many defenders who can stop either of them when they attack the rim.
Last year’s experiment with playmakers and non-shooters was a departure from the system which has seen LeBron achieve the most success in his career. Particularly in his second stint in Cleveland, LeBron’s teams had a heavy focus on shooting from all over the floor, with LeBron creating shots for others or utilising the space to drive hard to the hoop. This year, the focus in free agency clearly shifted, with key additions including Danny Green, Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels and Jared Dudley. It was a critical change that could help LeBron get back to his best.
Weaknesses: The Point Guard Position
The loss of Lonzo Ball to the New Orleans Pelicans in the Anthony Davis trade has left a gaping hole at point guard. Throughout the offseason, there have been many theories as to how Head Coach Frank Vogel would solve this issue. However, none look particularly promising at this point in time. In a league where almost every team (sorry Wizards fans) is fielding a near All-Star level player at point guard or a promising young talent, the lack of real options at point guard is very concerning for the Lakers. Matchups against the likes of Houston, Golden State and Brooklyn will have Lakers fans shivering; the prospect of Rondo attempting to guard Stephen Curry is the stuff of nightmares.
Incumbent veteran starter Rajon Rondo is notoriously ineffective next to LeBron, given his inability to shoot the ball. Additionally, his defensive ability at the point of attack is also quite poor. Many times last season he simply didn’t give enough effort and was constantly caught out of position. New signing Quinn Cook has shown stellar shooting ability which should translate into a good partnership with LeBron, but not much else beyond that in terms of playmaking and defence. Cook could flourish in an expanded role on the Lakers and be a Mario Chalmers-type of player – minimal playmaking and plenty of catch-and-shoot triples. However, there has no evidence that he can shoulder a starter’s workload. Cook has spent most of his career backing up one of the best point guards of all time in Curry and playing within a system that maximises his strengths on offence, so we will simply have to wait and see how he handles a new system and a larger role.
Much like Cook, Alex Caruso has also had minimal NBA experience despite showing flashes of ability. At the end of the 2018/19 season, Caruso was given extended minutes and flourished in a small sample size, quickly becoming a Staples Center fan favourite. He could very well be the answer to this issue, but it would have required a huge jump in his development over the summer. He will be given the chance to compete for the starting PG spot over the course of the season, so we will see whether he can rise up to the challenge.
It appears as though Vogel will begin the season with a defensive guard such as Avery Bradley in the starting 5 and allow LeBron to take over lead ballhandling duties, however over the course of the season it would be prudent to give LeBron some rest and not have him as the only player capable of running the offence at a high level. A leap by Caruso or Cook could be a tremendous boost to the Lakers, as it would provide them with another confident lead ball handler to help relieve some of the pressure from LeBron. But currently, the position is one of real concern for the Lakers.
In conclusion, despite the flaws that this Lakers team possess, this is lining up to be the most exciting season for the Purple and Gold since the days of Kobe and Pau. With the first genuinely competitive LA rivalry ever taking place, the City of Angels will be buzzing from the season opener against the Clippers, all the way through 2019/20. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds.
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