With a quarter of the NBA season complete, several teams are positioning themselves as threats to dethrone the defending champions.
Coming into this NBA season, there were several teams who looked like potential threats to the Los Angeles Lakers‘ quest to repeat as NBA champions. However, through the first month of play, there are some teams from that pool who have gotten off to slow starts, therefore not looking as intimidating as expected.
Teams such as the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, and Portland Trail Blazers are not exactly living up to their pre-season expectations due to injuries, COVID-19 health & safety protocols, or simply just losing games that they should be winning.
It is for these reasons that there are only a handful of teams in the entire league that look like they could cause the Lakers problems when the postseason begins in late May.
Let’s break down the Los Angeles Lakers’ biggest threats, first starting on the other side of the country in the Eastern Conference.