Now that the Lakers have a center in Deandre Ayton, a defensive player in Marcus Smart, a shooter in Jake Laravia, and Luka is now in shape. Do you think this team can now compete with the top teams in the West like the Rockets, Nuggets, and the defending champions Thunder?

37 comments

  5. Realistically they definitely could be really good or they could be mid. On one hand it depends on Luka who looks to be in top form, but Marcus hasn’t played a lot in the past two years, but he’s not that old, so if he has a year anything closeish to his DPOY year, that’ll be massive. Ayton is a wildcard as well, though age isn’t a concern. He has good potential, but he doesn’t always live up to it. At this point it also depends on how much Lebron regresses. He’s turning 41. Him being this good at this age is already incredible, but I’d be hesitant to expect him to have a better season this year than the previous, so we’ll see how he’s changed from last season. There are more factors too. If all or most play out well, we are proper bonafide contenders. If not, it’s much harder to say.

  6. I think we need a 3&D wing and a defensive minded backup center to really feel confident against the top teams in a playoff setting. Our lack of depth is a concern and there’s a lot riding on Ayton and Smart really playing up to par this season

  9. Yes, and we need one more great two way player. Either someone on the roster needs to step up big this year, or we need to pick up that piece.

  10. Yes, don’t listen to the national media clowns who say otherwise. Literally all of them except Tim Legler thought the Mavs had no chance of making the Finals in the 2024 postseason. Same goes for the Mavs making the WCF in 2022.

    Based on his age, showing at Eurobasket, and clean bill of health, Luka is poised to be the best or second best player in the NBA, and to put up his best season as a pro. He will be the best player on the court nearly every game the Lakers play.

    Combine Luka’s dominance with a legitimately good supporting cast and you have a contender. Just how good the Lakers are will depend on the contributions of Ayton, Smart, and LeBron, but the floor of this team is much higher than most will admit.

    Buckle up for a magical year. I really believe this team will be a top 3 seed and enter the postseason with the most feared player in basketball leading the charge.

  14. Not complaining but did Nico REALLY rubbed it in by sending away both remaining triple Dirks to us.

    (Game of Zones fans should get that joke…)

  15. Compete yes, but honestly I don’t see this squad winning a championship as it’s currently constructed.

  16. Assuming LBJ plays at the same level as last season and Luka plays like he has been in the Euro League, I think Lakers can compete against any team on any given night. I don’t know about championship but it’s a playoff team.

  20. 3/4 of the team has a huge chip on their shoulder. Players were doubted, even ridiculed by the media and gp. Washed, a bust, too old, too fat etc. If they channel all that correctly… Should be a fun season.

  21. They aren’t championship material…not deep enough, young enough, or athletic enough to compete with the very top teams over a seven-game series. But we should be in the mix for one of the higher seeds and a deep-ish playoff run, no doubt.

  24. Yes and im tired of pretending we’re not. We may have missing pieces but so do other teams (barring the defensive champ). We can compete.

  30. Compete sure, anything’s possible with healthy Luka and LeBron. But to secure a series win, Ayton needs to be motivated and do the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet on both ends, Smart/Vando’s health need to hold up, could still use a defensive minded 7 footer to spell Ayton.

  34. The Lakers will be comeptitve all year long especially since Centers in the league want to be guards and shoot 3’s all night. And if they can keep Vanderbilt healthy they are going to bring defensive chaos.

  36. The whole team is basically a bunch of one-way type players, so I think we are going to have some issues come playoff time without changes. Either guys will get picked on because they can’t play defense, or they’ll be useless and ignored on offense. Can’t really have it like that. I’m open to the idea of packaging Reaves and/or Rui, Knecht, and expirings, for a high quality player that can be on the court for heavy minutes on both sides of the court, during crunch time.

    My expectation right now is a decent regular season record, and washing out in the first or second round depending on matchup

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