The title or nothing. Out of the question for the Los Angeles Lakers to hide their ambitions a year after their coronation in the bubble and a few months after a premature exit from the road in the first round of the playoffs. The Californian team is recovering its precious. And to regain his place on the throne, the leaders have built a glorious squad around “King” LeBron James. Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, DeAndre Jordan, the ghosts Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard, the former Trevor Ariza and Wayne Ellington or the young Kendrick Nunn and Malik Monk have all landed in the city of angels. A luxury cast. Names and pedigrees that are piling up as never or almost in the history of the league: the workforce of the Lakers compile 48 selections in All-NBA teams, a record. “ We have to go to the end. If we don’t win, it will be a bit like the failure of Team USA at the 2004 Olympic Games “, even dared Anthony , thus referring to the American XXL armada (Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, James, Melo) “only” Bronze medalist in Athens fifteen years ago.
And however, despite the prestige of this group, the Angelenos are not even really big favorites when gauging the strengths in attendance a few days before the start of the new season. With Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, in addition to LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin or Patty Mills, the Nets have revived the arms race in the NBA. The Lakers have therefore strived to follow suit, by putting the prosecution on recruitment. But with several uncertainties related to the age of the major players as well as their compatibility on the field. Doubts that deserve to be underlined, questions that arise and to which only time, and therefore the sequence of matches, can answer.
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The first real question mark rests around Russell Westbrook. The point guard, ex-MVP (2017) and multiple All-Star, has been an enigma since the start of his career. A fierce competitor, a statistical machine, a player who is constantly in depth and a style so atypical that he sometimes comes to harm his own team. After 11 seasons with the pros, the native of Long Beach is about to discover a new role, that of third option. An adaptation seems necessary. Westbrook has rubbed shoulders with extraordinary scorers like Kevin Durant, James Harden and Bradley Beal throughout his career but that did not prevent him from taking the game on his own, even behaving like the first option at times. And sometimes even at the wrong time. There, he finds himself therefore with the mission of feeding in priority LeBron James and Anthony Davis, two of the ten best basketball players in the world. “ When you have three great players like that, it necessarily involves sacrifices “, noted the coach, Frank Vogel. This is clearly the key word in LA – as in all the “super teams” formed by LBJ since the beginning of its career – and even more so for Westbrook. He can’t be the showmaster in a franchise that’s really playing the title. The last five years prove it. We will have to learn to withdraw. Maybe even play differently. By spending more time without the ball in your hands and then taking advantage of its dynamism to cut towards the circle.
Russell Westbrook
Credit: Getty Images
This awareness, he’s never had it before. Neither with KD, nor with Harden. Will he do it alongside James? The two superstars have spent a lot of time together since the official transfer of the leader to California. The current goes well, which can facilitate their understanding on the floor. It might not just be LeBron who’s going to help Russ evolve. It is also quite simply the latter which gains in maturity a few days before celebrating its 33rd birthday. In particular, he would have spent the summer working on his shooting, with cleaner mechanics (no more jumps of four meters when drawing…). This is a very important point for these Lakers. Westbrook can’t just be a harmless stud when the “Chosen One” is in charge. His chronic three-point clumsiness – 31% last season – is potentially problematic. He must be able to pose a threat to the defense behind the line, in order to stretch the lines and provide space for his teammates.
A LeBron James more withdrawn but even more dangerous?
But for James, “ Russ has to play Russ. We don’t need him to change his game. We did. come to be himself. It’s up to us to help him integrate into our system. “Not sure. The position taken remains interesting. After all, the four-time NBA champion has never had a creator as prolific as Westbrook on his side. An interesting fact. It may also be the occasion for the Akron prodigy to reinvent himself, once again, to complete his career at the top of the ranking of the best scorers of all time (he must hold two seasons and dust 18 points on average to overtake Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). “He can do anything “, warned Vogel.” And he’s ready to do anything. “There it is, the real question. Of course James knows how to play without monopolizing the puff, taking advantage of his power at low post or reading the game to stand out and get shots close to the basket. But does he really want to do it? as usual and accept a role of co-driver at times? It is clear that this could help him get through the season while sparing himself in order to arrive fresh in the playoffs. At least cooler than during the last exercise, when a severe ankle injury put the brakes on the Lakers’ journey.
LeBron James knows what every accomplishment means at this point in his career. He openly hunts for honorary status, abstract and yet much discussed as “best player in history.” He arrives revenge after a difficult year. He will have to be counted on, that’s for sure. “ J I’m not worried about my adaptation. I always find a solution. “One would be tempted to believe it. The” small ball “is precisely a possible solution for Los Angeles. And it seems to be heading there. Davis should start in pivot, with James and Westbrook in the five. Around, Trevor Ariza and Wayne Ellington will provide defense and outside shooting. The duo formed by Russ and AD is particularly promising. The point guard has always had a good relationship with his interiors but he does not. has never been around one of Davis’s caliber. Their association is a weapon of mass destruction if the Lakers shooters create enough space. Hence the interest in playing “small”.
In the end, there are two pitfalls with these Lakers. The first would be to think that the accumulation of talent is enough to get a ring. The second would be to underestimate this team because of the problems that jump in. eyes at first glance. Because with so many talents, the Los Angeles armada can go very, very lo in.
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