LeBron James to LA shows the Los Angeles Lakers are headed in the correct direction.
What if I told you critics and fans saying LeBron James will win titles immediately with the Lakers is an overreaction? Could this be a repeat of history since it does repeat itself? How about Deja Vu when the Lakers attempted to sign Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, then that didn’t work?
I am going to remind you that James joined the Lakers who are in the Western Conference not the Eastern Conference. This is not to say James isn’t a talented athlete; the Western Conference is known for being the stronger conference.
For example, if you evaluate the team he took to the 2018 NBA Finals, other critics say they aren’t All-Star players. However, I would like to say there were some All-Star players and that they are all good basketball players.
To justify this let me remind you that the Cavaliers traded most of their players and in essence received a new team. One quality they didn’t have was chemistry, because they weren’t a team for an entire season. Hence, everyone explained that is how LeBron carried his team to the 2018 NBA Finals.
Many critics and fans think he can do the same with the Lakers. In LA the difference in their roster is they’re full of young raw talent. That is another quality LeBron James didn’t have in Cleveland; a young core.
If James had this roster in Cleveland think of what they could have done. Imagine what they can do in the West; make the Finals, yes it will be a slight more difficult to achieve, yet it is possible. LA wants to win now and it’s possible as the NBA Finals are the ultimate goal for the franchise; playoffs in James first year is the silver lining.
LeBron James averages a triple-double, is a playmaker, been to multiple NBA Finals and won the NBA FInals three times. The young core on the Lakers consist of Kyle Kuzma who is a versatile, finesse player who can shoot.
In addition the rest of the young core consists of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Josh Hart. Ingram is lengthy and good at taking up space on defense. Balls’ ability to see the entire court, his vision is what allows him to be a talented passer. Furthermore, Hart is the other young player who can shoot and also a lockdown defender.
Let us not forget about the two players they just drafted in Moritz Wagner and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. Wagner is a center who can shoot and Mykhailiuk is a pure shooter who can run the floor and fly high.
Furthermore, if LeBron can carry the Cavaliers to the Finals; everyone thinks he can carry the Lakers to the Finals. Despite being in the West it is possible, because LeBron will score and will, will his team to victory.
The difference is James doesn’t have to score on every play or create plays for his teammates. The players on this Lakers roster can create plays for others and themselves.
That is the difference that would help lead this team to the Finals in the East cruising and they can do this in the west it will just take contribution from everyone on the roster.
Main Image: Embed from Getty Images
