2. The Los Angeles Lakers are significantly deeper
It has been a common thing to poke fun at the age of the Los Angeles Lakers roster but in all actuality, the team’s age is going to end up being a benefit, not a drawback, in the quest for championship no. 18. It is because of the depth.
The Los Angeles Lakers have 14 players on the roster and have 14 players who can legitimately contribute in the rotation in a big role. There are no young players who are going to average fewer than 10 minutes per game or a locker room veteran (like Jared Dudley) who is only there for team morale.
The Lakers are built with contributors and could legitimately run a 14-man rotation to get everyone involved while also keeping everyone as fresh as possible. It is going to be an interesting situation for Frank Vogel to maneuver, but that is only going to help the team.
Not only does it give the Lakers more options to go to in the playoffs when the rotation shrinks but it keeps the players fresh. That is extremely important with the age of the team and the long grind that is winning a championship. It is not like the Nets are spring chickens, either.
The Nets are not thin like some of the Golden State teams but they are not as deep as the Lakers. Patty Mills, Bruce Bowen and Blake Griffin are the team’s best bench guys and behind those three are a lot of unknowns.