Lakers Ranked Lowest in NBA Power Rankings
Lakers Ranked Lowest in NBA Power Rankings: The NBA Expert Zach Harper of The Athletic doesn’t think the Lakers offseason additions added much firepower for 2018-19. Harper says these players won’t be as effective as Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
The Lakers have made the top of their roster the same this season by letting go of veterans and signing younger players who seem to be up to the task of leading a team now. The roster round out with Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, and LeBron James was an abject failure.
The Lakers signed a quintet of younger players;
Juan Toscano-Anderson
Damian Jones
Lonnie Walker IV
Troy Brown Jr.,
Thomas Bryant.
They are all role players and none are All-Stars. The proof in the pudding is that all five players haven’t signed with another team this offseason.
In his most recent NBA power rankings, The Athletic’s Zach Harper has the Lakers at No. 18, as included in the “play-in” teams of tournament section
Frank Vogel has been named as the scapegoat for last season’s poor performance. However, I do not know if he is capable of fixing the team moving forward. Despite the move to Orlando, Russell Westbrook is unlikely to go anywhere and the defense could get better, so this season seems hard to predict.
The Lakers need healthy superstars in order to compete this season. The fourth straight season that has gone by very much like the other seasons as the Lakers have stayed on top or just below top seed.
“There is a lot of uncertainty with the roster at this point, but it will depend on whether or not LeBron James and Anthony Davis are healthy enough to perform. Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler should be good pickups, but are they worth the risk?”
It’s been an enigma for Harper that the Lakers main star, LeBron James, has left the team. Hopefully, LA will have answers for Harper this coming season.