On paper, the Los Angeles Lakers team that took the floor Wednesday against the New Orleans Pelicans can’t hold a light to the one that started the 2021-22 season with the second-best title odds in the NBA.
In reality, it has so much more promise. And +3000 odds make the revamped Lakers a much better gamble.
Hindsight is 20/20, but we know that previous iteration of the Lakers, which featured six potential Hall of Famers, was a terrible fit. They flamed out fast and finished the season 11th in the West and out of the playoffs.
On Wednesday, we saw a team that much better complimented one another. A team that fit better around stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, one very capable of climbing out of 13th place and potentially competing for a bottom-tier playoff seed, let alone a spot in the play-in tournament. We saw, dare I say, a Western Conference sleeper pick.
It was just one game, but against another projected playoff team higher in the standings, the Lakers dominated from start to finish without necessary hero-ball games from James and Davis, who scored 21 and 28 points, respectively. Fellow starters, and trade deadline additions, D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley combined for 35 points to chip in for the 120-102 win. Thirteen different players recorded minutes and 12 scored points.
“I feel really good about what we’ve got brewing, but we need to lock in,” James said. “It’s the first time we’ve all been on the floor together, so we wanted to see what it looks like, and the first 40 minutes looked pretty good.”
Head coach Darvin Ham will have some work on his hands figuring out minutes and rotations, but it’s a good problem to have with better fitting pieces at his disposal. And there’s still room for improvement. The Lakers only shot 27% from three and 61% from the free throw line.
One game isn’t enough to run to your nearest sportsbook for a Lakers championship ticket. The Denver Nuggets and (the idea of) the Phoenix Suns are still really tough. But if you already have a Lakers bet, you’re probably feeling better about the team’s chances to make some noise after the All-Star break.
