The Los Angeles Lakers can still win the NBA Championship without Avery Bradley.
Lakers Nation, can you feel it? We are inching closer to the resumption of the 2019-20 NBA season, and the Purple and Gold are considered by many to be the favorites to win the world championship.
They’ve earned this recognition with a stout defense, a fast-paced and potent offense and of course, the best duo in the NBA.
When guard Avery Bradley decided to not participate in the season’s resumption, Los Angeles Lakers fans sighed a bit, knowing their team’s chances of winning it all took a hit.
Make no mistake, the Lakers will miss Bradley. He’s arguably the team’s best one-on-one defender, and his ability to hound opposing guards as they bring the ball upcourt helped the team earn the NBA’s third-best defensive rating.
After a rough start to the season offensively, Bradley had been shooting well of late, hitting 41.8 percent of his 3-pointers from January 1 onward.
But one of L.A.’s strengths is their depth. All season long, as various players on the team went out with minor injuries and ailments, the Lakers adopted a “next man up” mentality and continued winning at a torrid pace.
Although Bradley’s absence will hurt, let’s not act like he’s an all-star-caliber player the Lakers absolutely can’t do without.
They can still win the NBA championship in a few months because they still have many strengths.