Lakers: 3 Realistic Predictions For the Lakers Next Season

The Lakers season couldn’t come any quicker, here are a few things to get you hyped for the upcoming campaign

The Los Angeles Lakers current roster is loaded with a mixture of young talented players and experienced veterans and under new coach, Luke Walton, hopes for the team are high per usual.

With that in mind, despite ESPN’s prediction that the team will rank dead last in the Western Conference and third worst overall, there are still plenty of things the Purple and Gold can look forward to this season, including proving their critics wrong.

Here are three realistic predictions for the Lakers next season.

Larry Nance Jr Wins the Dunk Contest

Last season, Larry Nance Jr was unable to compete in the dunk contest as the team’s training staff advised him to skip it to prevent aggravating his knee which he injured in January.

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After being ruled out, Nance told ESPN’s Baxter Holmes that,

"That’s something that I’ve always said I’ve wanted to do at some point. With the recent [injury] in my knee and everything, I don’t want to go against the training staff’s advice.This year might not be in the cards, per [the training staff’s] request, but it’s still something I personally would love to do in the near future. Next year, if [the NBA] wanted me, I would love to."

Prior to injuring his right wrist during Summer League, Nance revealed that he was around 90 percent in terms of his rehabilitation from his knee injury, so hopefully he will be able to follow in his dad’s footsteps this year and win the first dunk contest for the Purple and Gold since Kobe Bryant took it home in 1997.

Julius Randle Averages 15 Points and 15 Rebounds a Game

Of the three predictions, this may be the biggest stretch, but if Julius Randle has been working as hard as he’s led on this offseason, it is definitely a real possibility.

Averaging 11.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in what was technically his rookie season — 14.5 and 13.1 adjusted per 36 minutes — with Kobe Bryant finally hanging them up, there are now 17 more shots to be shared among the team, which could very likely fall to Randle.

Additionally, the Kentucky product could also benefit from Brandon Ingram and D’Angelo Russell taking these shots, as hopefully he’ll be able to turn some of these misses into offensive rebounds and subsequent easy second chance points.

Last season, Randle was definitely better snagging defensive rebounds, so hopefully during training camp the coaching staff emphasizes how valuable he can be on the offensive boards as well.

Tarik Black Starts Before the End of the Season

It is widely assumed that Timofey Mozgov currently holds the starting position at center but it’s a real possibility that Ivica Zubac, but more likely Tarik Black, could steal that spot before the season’s end.

While I’m a firm believer in the fact that once the regular season starts, Mozgov is going to surprise a lot of fans, I think that Black’s connection with Clarkson and Russell in the pick-and-roll and his ability to defend the rim despite being undersized make him the perfect center for Luke Walton.

Whether it be due to injury, losses piling up or simply Luke Walton just wanting to switch things up, my bet is on Tarik Black starting at some point during the regular season.

Next: Brandon Ingram's Best and Worst Case Scenario

Other predictions include D’Angelo Russell winning Most Improved Player of the year and Lou Williams once again contending for Sixth Man of the Year honors.

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