Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers recently talked about the team being underestimated.
Heading into the 2018-19 season, the Los Angeles Lakers are obviously going to be a much better team than they were last season. Due to the addition of LeBron James, the Lakers are expected to make the playoffs, but where they finish is where the debate has been.
Last season, the Lakers were a very young team. As the rebuilding continued, it was all about getting guys like Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart experience. Even though the Lakers didn’t make the playoffs, the young core certainly performed well and caught the eye of James.
Teams that James is on generally tend to be favorites when it comes to advancing deep in the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference, James was able to make the NBA Finals for eight straight seasons with four coming in Miami and four in his second stint with the Cavaliers.
Heading into this season, not many are expecting to see James in the NBA Finals, as the Western Conference being far deeper than the East and the Lakers being young seem to be the two main reasons. Recently, Kyle Kuzma talked about being underestimated with LeBron in town. Here’s what he had to say to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com.
"“We are both definitely excited about the roster and the pieces that we have,” Kuzma told ESPN “And we think that a lot of people are underestimating us. It is definitely going to be fun playing with all these new guys.”"
With the best player in the world, the Lakers might be being taken a little likely since they weren’t a playoff team last season. However, James was able to take the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals one season after they missed the playoffs, and while it was in the Eastern Conference, that is still a great accomplishment.
As far as being a young team, the Lakers’ core might be young, but they did add a lot of veterans along with James this offseason. Adding guys like Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, and JaVale McGee should help the Lakers handle the playoffs, as all three are very experienced, with both McGee and Rondo being champions.
For the young guys, Kuzma doesn’t believe that their age will slow the Lakers down at all this season. Time will tell how the young core of the Lakers does with James, but the future is certainly bright in Los Angeles.