Lakers News: Writer Criticizes This Element Of LA’s Team Building
The Los Angeles Lakers put together an incredible offseason, and now they will enter the year with a great chance to win the NBA title. Of course, health is always a factor for this team, but the hope is that they will manage things correctly through the regular season.
The sky is the limit for this Lakers team, but there will be challenges that come their way. One of which will be how they fare against the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Denver swept LA in the postseason last year, and the two teams should go at one another again. Led by superstar Nikola Jokic, Denver will likely cause some issues for LA once again.
One writer believes that LA didn’t do enough to stop Jokic and wonders why they didn’t add a big to go against him. Rob Mahoney of The Ringer looks at how LA could still find issues with Denver.
“Against that backdrop, it’s fascinating that the West’s class of challengers did so little this offseason to better match up with the Nuggets. After getting swept by Denver, the Lakers added the sorts of lean, lanky bigs that Jokic (who already averaged a 28-15-12 triple-double against the best defenders L.A. had to offer) can easily throw over his shoulder….”
While LA didn’t add a stronger big to take on Jokic, they believe that they’ll be okay. If anything, they improved their defense as a whole, and with Davis running the show, LA trusts that they will get the job done.
Guys like Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood and others will help Davis against Jokic if they match up in the playoffs. They won’t stop him but containing him may be possible.
“Maybe the only way to really contend with the Nuggets is to resign yourself to the fact that no matter what you do with your roster, Jokic will get the shots he wants. But will no one sign an extra backup big just in case? Will there be no real effort to challenge the Nuggets at the core of what they do best?”
Jokic is going to get his numbers, no matter who is out there. He is too talented of a player, but if LA can even throw him off his game a little bit, it will be seen as a win.
If LA and Denver get together in the playoffs again, it will be must-see TV. These two teams don’t like each other, and most fans are hoping that this matchup does happen again.
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