The Los Angeles Lakers have been very active this offseason in building a team that can return to the NBA Finals. After winning championship no. 17 in 2020, the Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
Granted, the main reason why the Lakers lost was injuries but that was still enough for the team to go into overdrive this offseason. The goal was obviously to improve the team and add more star power and that is what the Lakers have done.
First, the Lakers traded for former MVP point guard Russell Westbrook. Yes, the fit is wonky and the playstyles may clash but the talent is there. If there is anyone I trust to figure it out it is LeBron James.
The team followed it up with a slew of signings, mostly via the veteran minimum, surprising a lot of NBA pundits with who they were able to bring to LA.
One thing is now clear, the Los Angeles Lakers are miles ahead of any team in the Western Conference.
According to WynnBET, the Los Angeles Lakers have +375 odds to win the NBA Championship. That is better than the +400 odds they had before making the moves, although they are not the best NBA Title odds. The Brooklyn Nets are still the prohibited favorite at +225.
The Nets would certainly be a challenge if the Lakers do indeed square off against them in the NBA Finals, which, as long as the team stays healthy, should be a no-brainer.
Here are the three main reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers will blow any other Western Conference team out of the water.
1. The Los Angeles Lakers have more starpower than any team in the Western Conference
This is where the discussion always has to start. While there are other parts of the equation when it comes to building a title team, having the most starpower is often an indication of success in this league.
And before you point out the Milwaukee Bucks, they did get some injury luck to go their way against the Nets and still have the best player in the league and two other top-30 players.
Nobody in the West comes close to what the Lakers have. First off, the Lakers have two players who are in the top 10, which is something that only the Brooklyn Nets also have. That alone gives the Lakers more starpower.
Throw in Russell Westbrook, who is still a top-25 player at worst, and this is a star-studded cast, despite any conflicting playstyles. The rest of the West does not even compare.
Kawhi Leonard is going to miss most if not all of the season for the Clippers, Jamal Murray is missing most of the season for the Nuggets, the Jazz are solid but Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert is not enough, Damian Lillard is all alone, Luka Doncic is all alone and Phoenix is really talented, but LeBron and AD are better than both Chris Paul and Devin Booker.
The only team that could come close is Golden State and that would take an MVP season from Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to return at 100%. Even then, Thompson is not a top-10 player in the league and Draymond isn’t any better than Westbrook.
2. The Los Angeles Lakers are legitimately deep
Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers do have some old role players and that could be a cause for concern but when you look at the roster from top to bottom, this is actually a really deep basketball team.
Sure, some of the role players can only produce so much but that is fine when you have three stars who will combine for 75-80 points in a playoff game. The Lakers just needed complementary pieces and they got that and more.
There is still another two signings or so to make to fill out the roster but as it currently stands right now it is really hard to hate what the Lakers have going on. Here is a look at how the positional depth chart could shake out:
- PG: Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn
- SG: Malik Monk, Wayne Ellington, Talen Horton-Tucker
- SF: LeBron James, Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore
- PF: Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony
- C: Dwight Howard, Marc Gasol
The Los Angeles Lakers are two-deep at every position and three-deep at most. More importantly, this team is very versatile and can throw so many different looks at opposing teams based on what the matchup dictates.
Want to go really big? Run out Westbrook, Ariza, Carmelo, LeBron, Davis (or Westbrook, Ariza, LeBron, Davis, Howard). Want to go small? The Lakers can easily run a three-guard lineup of Westbrook, Monk/Nunn, Horton-Tucker/Ellington, LeBron, Davis.
They added shooters, they have rebounders and they have guys who can create their own shot, such as Monk, as well as guys who can create for others, such as THT. There is some potential for the defense to struggle but they still have a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Anthony Davis, a good defender when he tries in LeBron, a long defender in Horton-Tucker and size in Ariza and Bazemore.
It might not quite be last year’s defensive team but there is no reason why they shouldn’t be above league-average, which is more than enough.
3. There shouldn’t be another fluky season for the Los Angeles Lakers
Of course, anything is possible and nobody can completely write off the risk of injury for any team before a season. However, all the signs are pointing in a positive direction and the Los Angeles Lakers shouldn’t have to suffer what they went through last season.
First of all, the Lakers do not have to play after the shortest offseason in American sports history and actually got an extended offseason by being eliminated in the first round. That is extremely important with LeBron’s age and AD’s lingering issues.
Second of all, the Lakers’ depth and talent is going to allow the team to expect less out of LeBron and AD. Don’t be surprised if this is one of the worst statistical seasons for these two guys (they will still be great) as they tone it back a bit to stay healthy for the playoffs.
A massive part of this is Russell Westbrook. It is completely justified to question how the fit will work in the playoffs, especially in crunch time. But when it comes to the regular season, Westbrook absolutely makes the team better.
Westbrook is a guy who cares (sometimes more than he should) about every single game and when LeBron and AD need a break Westbrook will be there to pick up the slack and go 120% to help win some games.
This will result in fewer fluky losses against bad teams, which will, in turn, result in the team having the top seed in the Western Conference. Seeding does matter, especially with the play-in tournament now, and the Lakers should be confident that they can avoid another situation like last season where they fall all the way to seventh.
Theoretically, by the time the playoffs start, everyone on the team will be locked, loaded and ready to go.