ESPN recently released their summer forecast for who they think will win the Western Conference. How many votes did the Los Angeles Lakers get?
The Los Angeles Lakers were instantly able to change the direction of their franchise this offseason with the signing of LeBron James. As the best player in the NBA, James gives the Lakers a chance to beat any team on any night.
We have seen James do some remarkable things with not a lot of talent around him as recent as last season. While the Lakers do have a lot of talent, that talent is still young an unproven. Arguably the biggest question mark for how far the Lakers can go in the 2018-19 season will be the development of the young core.
In the Western Conference, the Lakers will have to deal with arguably the best two teams in the NBA in the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets. The Warriors are the two-time defending champions, and the Rockets took them to seven games last year in the Western Conference Finals.
ESPN recently released their summer forecast, and the Lakers received the fourth-most votes to win the Western Conference.
To no surprise, the Warriors somewhat ran away with this, as they kept their All-Star lineup, and also added DeMarcus Cousins in the offseason. Coming in second place was the Rockets, as Chris Paul and James Harden will be attempting to finish what they started last season.
However, the surprise might have been the Oklahoma City Thunder receiving the third-most votes to win the West. Despite disappointing in the playoffs last season, the Thunder do still have Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Also, the loss of Carmelo Anthony might be an addition by subtraction.
For the Lakers coming in fourth in the voting with 13 points is certainly encouraging, as they weren’t even a playoff team last season. While winning the Western Conference will be a big challenge, the Lakers could be a threat come playoff time if the young core develops around James. One thing is for sure, no team in the West will be looking forward to playing LeBron and the Lakers in the first or second round.