Lakers: Ex-LeBron James Teammate Believes LA Could Be A Major Playoff Spoiler
Your Los Angeles Lakers look like a brand-new team, and in a sense, they are. LA has five new major rotation players they acquired before the NBA trade deadline, and the pieces fit better alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
This Lakers team has depth, while before the trade deadline, James and Davis needed to exhaust themselves to pick up a win.
Because of this, many talking heads and analysts are putting some stock into LA and their chances of making the playoffs. However, ESPN Analyst and 2008 NBA champion Kendrick Perkins not only believes LA will make the playoffs, but they will be a force to be reckoned with because of their new pieces.
"This team right here, with the way D'Angelo Russell has been playing, the addition of Jarred Vanderbilt," Perkins said. "They have everything and more. When it comes down to the Western Conference it's a few teams that don't want to see this Laker team. When I'm looking at it right now, they just have to go a five or six-game winnings streak what they're capable of doing and get into the play-in to get into the postseason. This team will be dangerous. They will be the most dangerous eight seed in NBA history if they get into the playoffs, which I think they will."
Yes, the Lakers faced a Pelicans team with no Zion and a Warriors team with no Stephen Curry; however, there is good reason to be optimistic. We've become so accustomed to the Lakers team we've seen the last season and a half, but this is now a real team.
The Lakers have shooting; they're able to space the floor and have Davis or James be able to do their damage. You need to account for solid floor-spacing three-point shooters Malik Beasley and Russell, and Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura, two excellent cutters to the basket.
The Lakers finally have a team, and with 22 games left, LA will do all they can to make the postseason and make a deep run.
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