1. The Los Angeles Lakers are significantly better
It isn’t often that a championship team loses multiple rotation players but still manages to improve the roster with subsequent acquisitions. The Los Angeles Lakers did exactly that, and the rest of the West is on notice.
This shouldn’t be a surprise, as many were stunned at what the Lakers were able to accomplish this offseason. They lost starter JaVale McGee and rotational players Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo to free agency. They followed that up by dealing Danny Green to Oklahoma City in exchange for Dennis Schroder. Then the Lakers signed Wesley Matthews, Montrezl Harrell, and Marc Gasol.
Everyone did a double-take as the defending champion seemed to significantly improve their roster. Seeing them in action this week confirms that they did.
Outside of Wesley Matthews’ rough start, the rest of the new Lakers have been fitting in well. Sixth Man of the Year candidate Dennis Schroder has instantly provided a much-needed scoring punch and nearly secured a triple-double in the Lakers’ first game. Sixth Man of the Year winner Montrezl Harrell has been replicating the numbers he produced on the Clippers, showing off his offensive skill set with a 22-point performance against the Mavericks.
Marc Gasol, after not doing much in the first two games, picked up the slack on Sunday night with Anthony Davis out. He showed off the entire repertoire that made him attractive to the Lakers, notching 12 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and hitting all three of his attempts from deep.
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That being said, the Lakers did lose, convincingly, to the LA Clippers on opening night. Despite the Clippers’ embarrassing loss to the Mavericks on Sunday, without Kawhi Leonard, they are still right there with the Lakers in terms of talent — and also managed to improve their roster this offseason.
Additions such as Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum, and Luke Kennard are all meshing well. With the West set to run through LA yet again, it will be interesting to see how other hopeful contenders attempt to close the gap.