Lakers News: Player-Turned-Analyst Confident LA Can Win Title This Year

LA has gone 15-7 since the February 9th trade deadline.

Your 40-38 Los Angeles Lakers are sitting pretty today as the Western Conference's No. 7 seed, following a demonstrative 134-109 decimation of the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center. LA is just 0.5 games behind the West's fifth and sixth seeds, the 41-38 Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. 

The Lakers have won three straight games, and are 15-7 overall since their final trade additions were activated for their roster after the February 9th trade deadline. Over the course of a full season, that winning percentage would translate to a 55-win pace. To be fair, this is a relatively small sample size, so it's tough to say for sure that this revamped roster around oft-hurt stars Anthony Davis and LeBron James could truly deliver a 55-win season.

One former lottery pick-turned ESPN studio analyst, ex-Duke/Chicago Bulls point guard Jay Williams, has seen enough to think that your Lakers are for real.

.@RealJayWilliams on the Lakers:

"That is a team last night that can win a world championship. Mark it down." ✍️ pic.twitter.com/JAl7OVotvN

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 30, 2023

"Today, damn it, positivity is going to go viral. You know why? Because... Anthony Davis is averaging 26 points per game, it matches his first season [output] with the Lakers," Williams began. "Field goal percentage: career best. Rebounds per game: career best. Effective field goal percentage: career best. Think about this: shot diet -- 48% of his shots are at the rim. Matches his career best... defensive rating 109.1 when he's on the floor: the best in the NBA." 

"So when you tell me this team is healthy, with LeBron James, that smells blood in the water because of everybody being injured in the West," Williams continued, "Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, D'Angelo Russell, this team defensively -- the way they blitzed last night... that is a team... that can win a world championship. Mark it down."

Time will tell, Jay, but your enthusiasm is noted and appreciated by the Lakers faithful.

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