Los Angeles Lakers: The Conclusion
James and Davis continue to be one of the absolute best duos in the league and have both been mostly healthy so far, but an offensive rating of 111.8 (23rd in the league) is far too weak for that. The Lakers have the twelfth best defense, but when combined this hardly makes for a play-in team. An elite defense and an offense with a lot of pressure on the zone and numerous free throws guaranteed the turnaround last year. All of that has subsided, it’s small things why LA just can’t find their way with a similar squad. Vincent’s long absence hurts, but even with him the backcourt would be sparse, and overall there is a lack of dynamism in the team.
The Lakers have recently been linked to Zach LaVine, but a trade for the star guard would be a more difficult maneuver due to his salary. In the short term he would probably make the Lakers much stronger, but LaVine has never been someone who actually makes his team better despite juicy numbers. But that might not matter since LA needs quick success.
James could decide to leave after the season. In any case, you can expect one or two trades from the Lakers at the deadline; the maneuvers have paid off for them in recent years.
2024-01-08 08:58:00
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