tsirigoj wrote:SK21209 wrote:tsirigoj wrote:
I'm a pretty rational guy, and I eyeroll at the reaches Laker fans make sometimes (it's almost as bad as the Laker hate in this forum), but you are absolutely correct.
The first, say, 20 games of the season may be ugly, and the Laker haters will have a field day ("HAHAHA Laker fans! What do you have to say now?") When it starts coming together though, Lakers will be practically unbeatable when the whole squad is playing.
I don’t think anyone doubts they can be really good by the end of the season. But if the first 20 games of a season are ugly you probably aren’t finishing higher than fifth in this western conference. And having to win three straight series on the road with LeBron probably having to play 45 minutes a night to stay competitive is a TALL order
Not necessarily, on both accounts.
Lakers have quite solid role players (no matter what RealGM posters think), that could probably carry the team for quite a few minutes at a time while LeBron gets a breather.
Also, as players become more veteran and experienced in this league, home-court advantage begins mattering less and less. The Lakers have a solid core of head-y veterans with playoff experience.
Also, AD.
Also, how DeMarcus Cousins shows up to game 1 of the season is a toss-up, but assuming that he is AT LEAST as good as he was last season (probably will be better as he actually has an off-season to get in shape and rehab as needed), he'll average AT LEAST 16 and 8.
The Lakers probably aren't a playoff team if LeBron isn't healthy. AD is great but he's spent almost his entire career missing the playoffs as the lead dog. If LeBron plays 70+ games they should be a top 4 seed.