Is This Historically Great NBA Team Poised To Regress?
The Los Angeles Lakers have made numerous additions this NBA off-season, notably signing Gabe Vincent and Taurean Prince. Despite good pick-ups, are the Lakers bound to regress from their Western Conference Finals appearance?
Injury Concerns
Lebron James and Anthony Davis have both consistently missed lots of games due to injury over the last few seasons. Even this year, the Lakers dealt with injuries to both of their stars. Both Lebron and Davis had a very healthy stretch this playoff run without injury concerns. Considering Lebron's age and his recent injury concerns of missing over twenty games consistently, and Anthony Davis, can the Lakers assume both their stars will be healthy for two whole months in the playoffs again?
Do They Have Enough Talent?
Lebron James's jump shot ability has regressed significantly this year. Lebron James shot just 32% from the three-point range, and his shooting in the Nuggets playoff series was as low as 16%. Lebron's a primary attacker of the rim, but with him approaching 40 years old, he is going to need an adequate jump shot to still be fresh for the playoff season.
Anthony Davis had a great playoff stretch, but his play is extremely inconsistent. Davis had games where he was shooting close to 50% from quite often, but multiple of those games were followed by him shooting in the 30s.
Austin Reaves emerged as a very crucial role player along with Rui Hachimura. Both Reaves and Hachimura provided great shooting and pesky defense. The Lakers also were able to add Gabe Vincent, their notable free agent. Vincent, while he broke out, could start to regress with the Lakers. The Miami Heat are known for their talent development and their ability to put players in situations to thrive. It's unclear if Vincent was a product of Miami's scheme or a player who just needed an opportunity.
Finals Thoughts On How They Fit In With The Other NBA Teams
The Lakers made good depth moves in the off-season. On paper, they should be better than they were with the shooting and extra scorers they added, but ultimately, it all comes down to health. Their two best players are great, but injury prone. If both are healthy and still can play at a high level, the Lakers should be viable contenders.
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