1. Playoff Bound!
The last time the Lakers qualified for the postseason, Dwight Howard was their center and Kobe Bryant had just torn his Achilles tendon. That was five long years ago, although to most Lakers fans it seems like eons.
Over the next four seasons, the Lakers won no more than 27 games in any year, including the franchise-worst 17-win season of 2015-16. Last season they increased their victory total by nine games to 35; not great but certainly an improvement.
Had they made no roster changes and entered this season with the exact same squad, it is possible they might have challenged for a playoff berth, depending on how much the young players improved.
But of course such speculation is moot since the Lakers re-shuffled much of their deck, and most importantly added James. LeBron has a history of guiding a new team to a much better record.
As a Cavs rookie, the team won 18 more games (total of 35) than it had the previous year. Miami experienced an 11-game improvement (47 to 58 victories) once LBJ joined them. And when he returned to Cleveland, the Cavs progressed by 20 games (from 33 to 53 wins). That’s an average of 16 games better.
If the Lakers improved by 16 games, that would mean 51 victories. Last year that would have been good for third place in the Western Conference. But it’s highly unlikely teams will be as closely bunched this season as they were last when teams that finished 3rd through 9th won between 46 and 49 games.
Simply to qualify for the playoffs in the tough West took 47 victories last year, 41 for each of the two prior years, and 45 wins back in 2015. Is it realistic to think the Lakers can win at least 10-12 more games this year than the 35 they won last season? It absolutely is! And that notion is a primary reason that Lakers are excited about the new season.
Conclusion
The palpable feeling of excitement in Lakers Land is justified for many reasons. That includes the addition of all-time great LeBron James, watching four young home-grown players take giant strides forward, enviable roster depth that will allow Walton to substitute liberally, a high-scoring roster that will be difficult to defend, and a sense that a return to the playoffs is well within reach.
It’s time for speculation to end and the season to begin!
All statistics courtesy of www.basketball-reference.com