It's time to be honest - the Lakers look great and are bonafide contenders

[doogie_hauser]

Add in LeBron and you absolutely crash in terms of team engagement and team play. Your defense will also go abysmal. So unless they trade LeBron. Absolutely not.

Lebron is a 4 time NBA Champion and all time leading scoring leader of the NBA. Don't see how he can possibly be an hindrance, not an valuable asset for the Lakers as they chase chip number 18.

Look I really don't like Lebron and his personality/ego but he has done so much for the NBA and helped make The Lakers relevant/a powerhouse again.

If he is able to play in a system and game plan where the offence mainly runs through Luka, The Lakers will be fine.

Pretty sure he is willing to take a back seat if it means he gets that elusive 5th chip.

[The Master]

They'll be fantastic in regular season while healthy if LeBron returns in last year's shape, we've already seen LeBron playing comfortably in more off-ball oriented role couple of times in the past 2-3 seasons - in the playoffs, tough to say, they found size (Ayton) and defense (Smart), but I don't think this is a top5-top8 defense material regardless.

So yeah, they look like a 2nd tier contender now, they fixed couple of things that killed them against the Wolves last year.

[Ssj16]

How about the Lakers make past Denver or Minesotta in the post season before you start declaring they can run with OKC.

[Optms]

RealGM seething at the fact that the Lakers are better than most of their teams so far while dealing with injuries. Par for the course.

7-2

With no Lebron and MVP Luka missing half the games. Blouses.

[Berbasecks]

Now imagine if Lebron would've settled for the vet minimum

Imagine if Luka settled for vet minimum. Imagine if Reeves settled for vet minimum. Imagine if Rui settled for vet minimum.

I don't really think it's comparable due to age. He chose money over a chance for another ring (and I'd love it if he & Luka got a ring). Fair play to him, but it gutted the team.

[The4thHorseman]

Nobody wants to face The Don & LeBron company

[JHFVF07]

I dont know about a contender, but considering what I read here in REALGM, Im surprised Lakers are projected to make the playoffs.

[kobe_vs_jordan]

To me they're pretty similar to last season post Luka trade. They still don't take a ton of 3's which in 2025 seems like not a recipe for success.

They got beat by the Wolves last year in the 1st round because they couldn't defend. I haven't seen anything yet from them that tells me they're much improved in that dept. I'll reassess them after the trade deadline if they make a couple of moves to bring in some 3&D type of talent.

I also think they should move Austin Reaves to the bench to supply offense once Luka and LeBron rest. He can still play when it matters in the 4th but sparking the 2nd unit is something they desperately need. IIRC they have one of the worst benches in the league, having Reaves be the point guard for that 2nd unit would really help keep them in games where they don't play defense well.

Big reason they lost to the wolves is they had no center, lost rebounding battle and no bench scoring . Beat the wolves twice this year due to them adding ayton, smart and laravia.

Now does that trio plus a trade get them to okc status? I doubt it

[cupcakesnake]

I don't think we know much about the Lakers yet.
What this team looks like, offensively, and defensively with their top 3 healthy, is pretty important. To me it's a question of: how great can this offense be, and can the defense get to solid? Luka/Lebron with this upgraded Austin Reaves has the potential for a #1 ranked offense in the league? The defense is a question mark still, as those 3 stars are all very slow, and it's going to be hard for them to consistently defend good offense with 3 players who can't really rotate off-ball.

JJ Redick is an excellent coach when it comes to operating with a skeleton crew. He comes up with functional schemes and gets player buy in, and can really maximize some player utility. He's getting a lot out of Ayton, Smart, and Laravia right now and leaning on what those guys do well.

Big reason they lost to the wolves is they had no center, lost rebounding battle and no bench scoring . Beat the wolves twice this year due to them adding ayton, smart and laravia.

Now does that trio plus a trade get them to okc status? I doubt it

Wolves have had a very cold, slow start to the season, so I don't think beating them is a big indicator for the Lakers.
The Lakers still profile as a very poor rebounding and rim protection team. They're a bottom 3 rebounding team, rank 24th in rim protection, 26th in block rate, and are generally allowing a lot of shots at the rim AND from 3.

Obviously, just having a big body like Ayton would have made a huge difference in last years series. It felt like the Lakers had to choose between keeping Gobert off the boards and playing real defense against everyone else. Even more importantly though, Luka was clearly not healthy in that series, so the Lakers couldn't really hit back on offense.

[druggas]

Who knows if they are a contender, but I don't think any team really wants to play them come play-off time.

[Iwasawitness]

I don't believe it. They won't make the playoffs, maybe not the play in.

Suns also were 9-1 last season

This is a bit much. I definitely don't think they're contenders but I'm not sure why you're so confident that they won't make the postseason?

[God Squad]

I don't see why they can't be considered contenders. Lets go through the West quickly.

Contender locks IMO
1.Thunder
2.Denver
3.Rockets
4. Lakers?

I don't see why the Lakers couldn't be in that group. But it's also very early, and if you told me Minnesota ( 4-4) went on a win streak, I wouldn't be surprised.

[TheCage4]

Luka does look awesome, but he most likely will not stay healthy enough to lead the Lakers to the Finals.

[bonita_the_frog]

OKC and Houston look like the only contenders to me...
Houston don't even have chemistry, don't even have a Point Guard, and already look like champs!
Its a question of genetics, Lakers just don't have the athleticism to match OKC and Houston.

[kobe_vs_jordan]

I don't think we know much about the Lakers yet.
What this team looks like, offensively, and defensively with their top 3 healthy, is pretty important. To me it's a question of: how great can this offense be, and can the defense get to solid? Luka/Lebron with this upgraded Austin Reaves has the potential for a #1 ranked offense in the league? The defense is a question mark still, as those 3 stars are all very slow, and it's going to be hard for them to consistently defend good offense with 3 players who can't really rotate off-ball.

JJ Redick is an excellent coach when it comes to operating with a skeleton crew. He comes up with functional schemes and gets player buy in, and can really maximize some player utility. He's getting a lot out of Ayton, Smart, and Laravia right now and leaning on what those guys do well.

Big reason they lost to the wolves is they had no center, lost rebounding battle and no bench scoring . Beat the wolves twice this year due to them adding ayton, smart and laravia.

Now does that trio plus a trade get them to okc status? I doubt it

Wolves have had a very cold, slow start to the season, so I don't think beating them is a big indicator for the Lakers.
The Lakers still profile as a very poor rebounding and rim protection team. They're a bottom 3 rebounding team, rank 24th in rim protection, 26th in block rate, and are generally allowing a lot of shots at the rim AND from 3.

Obviously, just having a big body like Ayton would have made a huge difference in last years series. It felt like the Lakers had to choose between keeping Gobert off the boards and playing real defense against everyone else. Even more importantly though, Luka was clearly not healthy in that series, so the Lakers couldn't really hit back on offense.

They would be 6 and 2 start if they beat the lakers. They also lost to Denver. Not sure you call that a cold start.

Lakers being 7-2 with injury issues a sign of at least marginal improvements. All hinges on what LeBron looks like in his return.

Lakers are 12th in rebound percentage. They been a middle of the pack rebounding team. Looking at rebounds per game doesn’t account for pace. Middle of the pack defending 3s percentage wise. 20th defending shots near the rim.

There is definitely room for them to improve defensively

[kobe_vs_jordan]

OKC and Houston look like the only contenders to me...
Houston don't even have chemistry, don't even have a Point Guard, and already look like champs!
It’s a question of genetics, Lakers just don't have the athleticism to match OKC and Houston.

Every KD led team has looked good on paper. Crowning a KD led team as champs seems insane lol

[Pattycakes]

The Ayton curve is about to crash down hard. I know that much reliably

[bonita_the_frog]

OKC and Houston look like the only contenders to me...
Houston don't even have chemistry, don't even have a Point Guard, and already look like champs!
It’s a question of genetics, Lakers just don't have the athleticism to match OKC and Houston.

Every KD led team has looked good on paper. Crowning a KD led team as champs seems insane lol

I know, that's why I watch them play, and Phoenix never looked like champs.

[Bornstellar]

This is a silly thread to make after beating a Spurs team with no PG while our best player had a terrible game and was in foul trouble all night which LA could have easily lost if SA had hit a few more free throws. Not to mention overall the game was terribly officiated and had the most foul calls since 1997. It's not like you guys beat the Thunder. Calling the Lakers a contender after eeking out a win at home against an injured Spurs team is just silly

On top of that, LAL has not even been fully healthy yet and we haven't seen what current LBJ looks like on this squad. Way too early to be calling them bonafide contenders

[KyRo23]

This is a silly thread to make after beating a Spurs team with no PG while our best player had a terrible game and was in foul trouble all night which LA could have easily lost if SA had hit a few more free throws. Not to mention overall the game was terribly officiated and had the most foul calls since 1997. It's not like you guys beat the Thunder. Calling the Lakers a contender after eeking out a win at home against an injured Spurs team is just silly

On top of that, LAL has not even been fully healthy yet and we haven't seen what current LBJ looks like on this squad. Way too early to be calling them bonafide contenders

I agree with some of this, but eeking out a win against an injured spurs team when LA is also crushed with injuries is a bit rich