Los Angeles Lakers among teams with the best title chances

1. Los Angeles Lakers

While this can easily be construed as favoritism, hear me out.

With LeBron James and Anthony Davis now on the Los Angeles Lakers roster, the purple and gold finally have the 1-2 punch they have been missing since the days of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal and, Kobe and Pau Gasol.

I struggle to think of a better pairing than Davis and LeBron.

In James, you not only have one of the most physically gifted players the NBA has ever seen but you might also have the most naturally talented the NBA has ever seen also. Not since the days of Michael Jordan has someone made dominating the game at the highest level look so easy.

In LeBron you get a leader of men, you get an elite playmaker, an elite scorer in transition and one of the most well-rounded players in the NBA. Even in his mid 30’s LeBron is still one of the best players in the league. After missing out on the playoffs last season, you can expect a motivated, in shape and chip on his shoulder LeBron as a lot of people have spoken about his demise.

Now add Davis to the mix. Davis deserves to be in the conversation of one of the most physically dominant big men to enter the NBA since the likes of David Robinson and Shaquille O’Neal.

In AD you get the elite of the elite two-way players in the NBA. A premier shot-blocker, Davis alters every single shot that comes into the paint, forcing players to consider their options usually leading to a poorly timed pass or turnover.

Davis is also a beast on the offensive end. Davis’ handles for a big man are incredible. He is capable of picking the ball up on the perimeter to blow by opposing big men as well as wings, and good luck trying to stop him when he is in the paint. Davis has the athleticism to go above, around or through you.

Add to this his wide array of post moves and you can understand why Davis alongside Michael Jordan and James are top 5 in PER all-time in the NBA.

With the likes of Danny Green, Dwight Howard, Avery Bradley and Quinn Cook joining the Lakers, the purple and gold have addressed a lot of problems they had last season with defense and 3-point shooting being extremely high on that list.

With the likes of Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma and JaVale McGee still on the roster from last season, the Lakers will have a 2nd unit of players who were all starters for the purple and gold last season. That automatically gives them a huge advantage over virtually every 2nd unit in the league.

With Bradley, Green, James, Davis, and Howard, the Lakers could have a starting five with the perfect mix of 3-point shooting and defense. With Bradley and Green capable of being elite perimeter defenders and 3-point shooters and Davis and Howard elite interior defenders, the Los Angeles Lakers will have an answer for virtually any question opposing teams will ask.

With the Lakers 2nd unit being so strong, they will keep them in a lot of games when Davis or LeBron or both are not on the floor.

Add to that the depth the Lakers have added from 1 to 15 and it is going to be a big ask for teams to beat the Lakers come playoffs.

Above all else, LeBron James is a lot closer to the end of his career than he is from the start. You can expect this Lakers team to come out all guns blazing come playoff time.

This Los Angeles Lakers team can win the Larry O’Brien trophy if they stay healthy. Here is hoping that happens.