The Lakers won the title in 2019-20 and were also a competitive team in 2020-21 until Lebron James and Anthony Davis got injured, derailing their season. These two teams had as a common denominator a stingy defense that was #4 and #2 in the league, compensating quite subpar offensive units.
Their front office decided that they had to change the course but the team had a remarkably awful 2021-22 season where they gave up most of their best defensive players who were replaced by plenty of veteran players known for their bad defense and inconsistent offense. The most obvious example of this was their trade for Russell Westbrook, who was a disaster all season long no matter what the Lakers tried.
2022/23 Outlook:
Someone needed to get the blame for such a bad season and naturally, it was the head coach Frank Vogel who got fired and was replaced by Darvin Ham. Russell Westbrook’s contract is so enormous that it is almost impossible to move him, so he is still with the team for now. The role that he will have in the Lakers this season is still a mystery but the LA team have already shown their intention of moving him by signing both Patrick Beverley and Dennis Schroder.
Austin Reaves’s good play was one of the few good news that the Lakers received last season and it is expected that he remains being a good role player for the team this season. However, the team’s current roster seems to have little shooting talent. Kendrick Nunn could provide a lift now that he is finally healthy, but there aren’t much more quality options down the roster.
Therefore, Lebron James and Anthony Davis will have to carry the team’s offense throughout the season. Both will have to enjoy injury free seasons to make sure the Lakers are in the playoffs mix. If that doesn’t happen, then the Lakers won’t stand a chance with this roster.
This will be a challenge as Davis only played 36 and 40 games in the last two seasons while Lebron played 56 and 45 games besides being almost 38 years old. Also note that the Lakers are in the same division as Phoenix, Golden State and the LA Clippers, three teams that are projected to fight for the #1 seed in the West, so the Lakers will have plenty of tough games ahead of them during the regular season.