The NBA regular season won’t be played for almost three months. Los Angeles Lakers’ star Kobe Bryant has a lofty goal. He believes that the Lakers are good enough to make the playoffs in the difficult Western Conference. Can they really make the playoffs this year?
The Lakers signed Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams, and Brandon Bass to their team. They also drafted D’Angelo Russell who was the second over all pick in the NBA Draft. According to ESPN, Kobe Bryant said, “They have really set themselves up for a promising future going on years. I think they drafted very well. The free agents that we picked are extremely solid, [Roy] H-9ibbert, [Brandon] Bass, Lou [Williams]. We have a very good mix of young and veteran leadership. The challenge is going to be blending the two and cutting down the learning curve.”
Roy Hibbert was an outstanding pick-up by the Lakers organization. He plays solid defense and can rebound the ball. Last year, when he played for the Pacers, he averaged 10 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. He will improve the Lakers on defense.
Lou Williams will play hard minutes off the bench. Last season with the Atlanta Hawks he had good numbers averaging 15.5 points, 2.1 assists, and 1.9 rebounds per game.
Brandon Bass will also improve the Lakers. He most likely will be the starting power forward. He can score and play defense. His 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game helped the Celtics reach the playoffs.
One of the areas the Lakers struggled in last season was defense. They could not stop the opponents from scoring, giving up 105.3 points per game. That was second to last in the NBA. In free agency this was one area they wanted to improve. By adding Roy Hibbert they are better. Hibbert is a hard defender. His size at 7’2” will make it tricky for players to drive into the key for easy baskets. The Lakers should be able to out rebound teams during the season.
The L.A. Lakers have a tall task ahead them to make the playoffs. They won only 21 games last year, second fewest in the Western Conference. Only Minnesota won less games at 16. This was the second consecutive year the Lakers have failed to win more than 30 games. The last time they made the playoffs was in 2013 with a record of 45-37.
The Lakers signed some great players. On paper this is a team that could compete for a playoff spot. They are going to need to win 50 or more games to get into the playoffs, a 29 win difference. We will have to wait until the regular season to see if these changes during the offseason will lead to more wins.
What do you think of the moves the Lakers made this offseason?
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