People seem to be divided on how well the Los Angeles Lakers will be capable of performing this coming season. While at least one player has expressed belief that they can be contenders, there are many pundits who feel they’re, at best, a play-in tournament team.
According to an ESPN panel, the Lakers are the team most likely to stumble this coming season, as they got the most votes in the balloting for “Team Turmoil,” which isn’t exactly the type of balloting one wants to win (h/t Lakers Daily).
Via ESPN:
“When it comes to the Team Turmoil vote, the focus is on uncertainty on the floor, coaching staff and front office,” ESPN’s staff wrote.
“This season’s ‘winner’ is the Los Angeles Lakers, who have a first-time coach in JJ Reddick, a superstar turning 40 in LeBron James and plenty of questions on the court after a first-round exit in last season’s playoffs.”
Los Angeles won 47 regular-season games last season, even though it didn’t bother to play hard against a number of inferior teams it lost to, this past season. It got past the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tourney before falling to the Denver Nuggets in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
While it has as great a superstar duo as any in James and Anthony Davis, plenty seem to feel that James’ level of play will fall off considerably, or that, at the very least, he and Davis will spend an extended stretch on the injured list.
The Lakers have holes such as a lack of a true defensive center or 3-and-D wing, and their starting backcourt of D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves is slow and lackluster defensively.
There are, of course, also questions about Redick, a first-time head coach who has never been even an assistant coach in the NBA or in college. He could very well succeed, but he could also have problems managing egos and personalities due to his lack of coaching experience.
The Lakers haven’t made any additions to their roster this offseason, other than signing Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, their two draft picks. Perhaps Knecht, who was expected to be a top-10 pick but fell to L.A. at No. 17, will play well, but it also may be hard for him to supplant the team’s incumbent wings in the rotation.