Lakers News: Expert Convinced LA Has Legitimate Chance To Win It All This Year
After a miserable start to their 2022-23 regular season, your Los Angeles Lakers underwent a massive makeover thanks to a series of smart trades via team vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka. Now, they'll be facing off against the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
So could your Los Angeles Lakers be destined to hang banner No. 18 this season? The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor thinks it's in play.
O'Connor notes that the Lakers' victory over the Grizzlies has made them the first seventh seed since 2010 to beat a second seed.
Anthony Davis, not LeBron James, emerged as the two-way fulcrum for the Lakers, the club's defensive leader and its main offensive weapon in the post. O'Connor highlights this moment as a key highlight of AD's incredible post play throughout the team's first round matchup with the Grizzlies:
Following an up-and-down regular season, Davis, per O'Connor, suddenly looks like his terrific 2020 self again, albeit minus some of the jump shooting that made him so lethal on offense.
James still enjoyed a solid run against the Grizz, averaging 22.2 points on 48.6% shooting from the floor, 11.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists. He did, however, struggle with turnovers, averaging 3.0 a night. O'Connor writes that James has been a bit more deferential thus far in the playoffs, and we saw just how well that worked in Game 6 against Memphis, where he handed the reigns of the team's offense to guards D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves. LA won by 40 points.
"The new-look Lakers are, frankly, loaded," O'Connor raves. "Russell can catch fire, like he did in Game 6 with 31 points, or like he did at the end of Game 4 hitting three straight 3-pointers to close the gap and give the Lakers a chance to win. Reaves scored 23 points in that same Game 4. Rui Hachimura has his moments on-ball, especially at the end of the clock. Jarred Vanderbilt is a connective piece in the frontcourt. And Dennis Schröder regularly provides a two-way spark off the bench. All of them have bought into their roles, just as LeBron and Davis have by occasionally letting someone else control the offense... There’s no guarantee of achieving their ultimate goal, but their team possesses all the ingredients of a champion."
This is an optimistic take for a 43-39 Los Angeles franchise, but they've already impressed in the first round in beating a favored club.
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