Training camp for the Los Angeles Lakers begins on Monday with media day, and everyone, from management to fans, is filled with a quiet but tangible optimism for the upcoming season.
The Lakers miraculously revamped their roster midway through last season, and it resulted in them going from a mediocre squad to one that had legitimate championship aspirations. Despite having to build chemistry on the fly with newcomers Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt, they reached the Western Conference finals, in which they were swept by the Denver Nuggets.
Perhaps the only real concern surrounding the team going into the 2023-24 campaign is the health of LeBron James. The 38-year-old superstar injured his right foot in late February, forcing him to miss a month of action. After he returned, he was visibly limited in terms of his explosiveness.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Lakers feel good about the health of both James and Anthony Davis. In addition, he mentioned Davis’ jump shot is looking potent, something Austin Reaves recently said as well (h/t Lakers Daily).
“Well healthwise, both LeBron and A.D., the team feels really good about,” Dave McMenamin said. “Now, the players on the Lakers organized a minicamp in San Diego last weekend. All the players on the roster were in attendance, and the buzz — the thing that people were talking about — was how well Anthony Davis’ jump shot looked.”
Since coming to the Lakers five years ago, James has become injury prone. He has played in more than 56 games in a season just once with them, and many feel his minutes and workload need to be significantly trimmed in order to keep him healthy moving forward.