1. The Golden State Warriors
Many fans speculated that the Warriors were vulnerable this year and that the Lakers actually had a chance to knock them out of the playoffs. Presumably, everyone reading this has watched Golden State lately. As you have undoubtedly noticed, the switch has officially been turned on!
If the top Warrior players are healthy for the postseason, NO Western Conference team, not the Lakers, the Nuggets, the Thunder, the Rockets or any other team is capable of stopping the Golden State juggernaut. And that probably holds true for the top Eastern Conference teams as well. Count on the Warriors winning their 3rd straight title and 4th in five years this June.
For the Lakers, that means sticking to the plan makes more sense than ever. Team owner Jeanie Buss recently reiterated that approach. There is no need to make a panicked move now that might provide short-term relief. Rather, Magic and Rob should continue to focus on the longer-range goal of building a sustainable, perennial contender in Los Angeles.
That doesn’t guarantee that the Lakers will indeed stand pat. Patience only goes so far. Chances are Magic and Rob will feel the need to do SOMETHING. But, it doesn’t look like there’s much they can do, given their objectives, that will make much of a difference this season.
The biggest difference will occur if the players recover from their injuries and start to mesh as well on the court as we all had hoped they would. Time will tell.