Even Lakers Hater Bill Simmons Has Come Around To New-Look Team’s Chances

Will LA manage its injury issues well enough to make the play-in tournament?

Prior to Los Angeles Lakers All-Star small forward LeBron James' right foot tendon injury, which is set to sideline him for at least the next two weeks, even avowed Lakers loather Bill Simmons of The Ringer was tentatively in on LA's postseason chances.

Simmons spoke with David Jacoby and Joe House on a recent episode of his eponymous podcast about just how much LA team vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka's trade deadline deals have improved the club's roster and general season outlook.

"I was so impressed by the Lakers, and D'Angelo Russell's played all of about seven-and-a-half minutes for them," House said. "The poor guy got a bum ankle. [The star of the deal is] Jarred Vanderbilt, they stole Jarred Vanderbilt at the trade deadline, and that transforms that team. His role on that team, it's a perfect compliment. Malik Beasley's just standing out there, catching wide-open threes and knocking them down."

Jacoby was a little less optimistic.

"Guess what, Jarred Vanderbilt is the headline of this trade... the difference that he makes, what he does for Anthony Davis," Jacoby weighed in. "Vanderbilt's just pushing people out of the way, swinging his arms around, batting balls, getting rebounds... If people weren't paying close attention, he was very effective when he was Minnesota, and I think that's exactly what this Lakers team needs... This team, I don't think they're going to make the playoffs, they're going to make the play-in. Maybe make the playoffs, and then you see them going against a Grizzlies [team] or the Nuggets. They might win a game [in a series]."

Finally, Simmons broke the tie.

"The Vanderbilt piece, I mean that was the key of the trade," Simmons said. "I always thought Russell was kind of the smoke for the casual basketball fans. He was the biggest name in the trade, but really he was an expiring contract and somebody who could handle the ball and shoot, but for the most part, what they really needed was Vanderbilt. They needed a guy who could play next to Davis, who could guard different positions."

"So Jacoby, you look at them, you just think, we all like Vanderbilt, I think he's a playoff guy, as we always talk about, and you've got Davis, who looked a little rejuvenated... I don't trust him [to stay healthy], I know we go game-to-game with him, same with LeBron, who's in year 20, who know's with him game-to-game, the point guard position, whatever, [with] Schroder and Russell, they'll have people who can bring the ball up and dribble. And then you have Beasley, Reaves, or whoever as the fifth, that's at least a recipe for [a team where] I'm not sure I want to play them in a series if everyone is healthy, I just think the 'if' is just too big of an 'if.'"

Days after this podcast's release, James did in fact go down with the tendon injury. Thanks mostly to the efforts of Davis, Vanderbilt, Beasley, Reaves, and Schroder, the team has managed to survive its past five games without either Russell or James. Now, with Russell presumably coming back into the fold as soon as tonight, the Lakers are very much still in the thick of the play-in hunt, and seem poised to make some kind of postseason push -- even if Vegas oddsmakers expect LA to lose to the Raptors tonight.

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