It only took one playoff game for the L.A Lakers to force late-to-the-party NBA reporters and analysts to suddenly switch positions and promote the 7th seeded purple and gold from a pretender to legitimate contender.
The Los Angeles Lakers have always believed that a healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis surrounded by a roster that complemented them was all they needed to have a legitimate chance to win an NBA championship.
Ironically, that’s exactly where the Lakers find themselves after a trade deadline roster makeover and late season resurgence. The new-look Lakers suddenly are fully heathy and playing as well as any team in the league.
Fortunately, the parity in the West that resulted from expanding the postseason to include more teams via play-in tournament and balancing the odds of getting the top draft pick are likely to extend into the playoffs.
We’ve aready seen three Western Conference teams — Lakers, Kings, and Clippers — pull off First Round Game 1 upsets and players returning from injury and getting injured are already changing the playoffs’ dynamic.
Unfortunately, heath is the issue for the Lakers, who dodged a bullet when Davis was able to return for the second half after suffering what appeared to be a serious injury late in the first half for the second time in two weeks.
But even if the Lakers can remain healthy, the path to the championship this season is still daunting with the Grizzlies, Warriors, Suns, and Nuggets representing a fierce gauntlet of serious strong teams to overcome.
With the West so wide open, are the new-look L.A. Lakers contenders or pretenders? Could they realistically win their 18th NBA championship this season? Let’s look closer at the pros and cons of a Lakers championship.
The Pros
The chances the Lakers win the NBA championship this season start with a healthy and rested LeBron James and Anthony Davis, much like they did back in 2020 when the Lakers dominated the bubble to win their 18th title.
The brilliant roster makeover engineered by Rob Pelinka at the trade deadline transformed a poorly constructed and incomplete Lakers roster into a deep and diverse team with seven key difference-making players.
Besides superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the new-look Lakers backcourt of the future of D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves gives the team two elite scorers and playmakers who can play on or off the ball.
The Grizzlies saw firsthand the new offensive power the Lakers have with the Russell and Reaves backcourt as the Lakers’ due outscored the Grizzlies starting backcourt of Ja Morant and Desmond Bane 42–40 for the game.
The Lakers traded Westbrook and the ‘three-superstar model’ for Russell and Reaves and the ‘two-superstars-and-two-stars model.’ These four are now the Lakers core. The core four each scored over 20 points in Game 1.
The new-look Lakers roster goes beyond the core four. Pelinka brought in smart BBIQ role players who could be difference-makers and give coach Darin Ham different buttons to push to win close games in the playoffs.
Jarred Vanderbilt starts next to the core four as their lock down defender while Dennis Schröder and Rui Hachimura are the energy players off Ham’s bench. All three are difference makers who could win a game.
The Laker also have two wild card players in Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba who have the potential to have huge positive impact but will have to be brought along carefully and integrated into the rotation by Darvin Ham.
Malik Beasley gives the Lakers that feared high volume 3-point shooter for whom teams have to game plan while Mo Bamba gives Los Angeles a true backup center who can both protect the rim and stretch the floor.
Lakers have two healthy superstars, two elite combo guards, and three to five difference-makers who add elite size, shooting, and defense. They have a starting lineup and 7-10 man rotation that could win a championship.
The Cons
The biggest reason to question whether the Los Angeles Lakers can win an NBA championship is obviously the health of their often injured superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, both of whom have in and out this year.
Frankly, the only reason the Lakers are the 7th seed rather than 2nd seed is their terrible 2–10 start and parade of untimely injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis that would have derailed the team but for league parity.
Talent wise, this Lakers team lealthy is probably the most dangerous 7th seed in the history of the NBA. They’re playing as well as any team in the league and have an elite starting lineup and deep and diverse bench
Now that the Lakers are finally healthy, can they realistically stay that way? Superstars James and Davis have missed large periods of the season due to foot injuries as have point guards D’Angelo Russell and Dennis Schröder
We already saw another Anthony Davis injury scare late in the first half of Game 1 where he sufferred what looked like a major injury only to come back in the second half. This is second time this has happened this month.
While it’s no slam dunk that James and Anthony will be able to stay healthy, the other negative is how little time key rotation players on the roster have had to play together due to ongoing injuries and late date of the trades.
If there is another negative to the Lakers new-look lineup, it’s that winning might be more realistic next season after the team had more time to gell and learn how to win together as a team. Hard to do that late in the season.
While the Lakers have the superstars and supporting cast to win the NBA championship, their greatest challenge will be for their superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis to remain healthy throughout the entire playoffs.
The Odds
After their big Game 1 win, the Los Angeles Lakers have the 6th lowest odds to win the 2022–23 NBA championship behind the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers, and Denver Nuggets.
Realistically, the Lakers at this point would likely be underdogs to any of those five teams. The challenge for them as a relatively newly formed team will be to elevate the level of their play as they move from series to series.
We will find out soon whether the healthy new-look Lakers can build the necessary continuity and chemistry to beat established championship caliber teams like the Milwaukee Bucks or Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers’ next big test will come tomorrow night when they will have an opportunity to kick the disappointed Memphis Grizzies in the face and set up a first round sweep and get valuable time off before the second round.
The playoff are an accelerating series of tests from game to game and from series to series. The opponents get better, the challenges greater, the path tougher, and winning harder each round. Teams grow into champions.
The Lakers looked great winning Game 1. They have found a formula that works and need to repeat it. Approach every game as if it was win or go home. Do not waste series, games, possessiions. One down, fifteen to go.
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Of course health is the most important thing, not just with us, but every team. I was encouraged that our role players stepped up on the road. Role players often have good games at home but not as often on the road. That was a good sign. The role players will need to continue to step up. That will help both AD and LeBron if the role players can make enough plays to take the focus off of them.