Lakers' Complete 2022-23 Season Preview and Predictions
The Los Angeles Lakers enter the 2022-23 NBA season with optimism, a ticking clock and the potential for major change.
It is, somehow, business as usual in the land of Purple and Gold.
Between the Hollywood spotlight and the presence of superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they are as relevant as any club can be in the Association. They're also coming off of a 49-loss mess of a season, which grew so turbulent that it spawned a coaching change and supporting cast overhaul this summer.
Can L.A. recover from its recently rocky play and give James even a puncher's chance at the NBA crown? Or are these Lakers doomed by injury issues, ill-fitting roster parts and a lack of resources to flesh out the back end of the roster?
Offseason Recap
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While good teams often aim for continuity over the offseason, those who fall as short of expectations as last season's Lakers did can see sweeping summer change ahead.
That's exactly how things played out in L.A.
Former coach Frank Vogel was ousted and new skipper Darvin Ham grabbed the reins. Malik Monk bounced in free agency, Talen Horton-Tucker was traded away and many of the club's role-playing veterans were simply left unsigned, as the Lakers sought more youth and athleticism in their supporting cast.
Despite a ton of trade chatter, the Lakers opted to keep Russell Westbrook around (for now, at least), but they did add some protection at the position with Patrick Beverley and Dennis Schroder.
As for their mini-youth movement, they beefed up the wing rotation with Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr. and Juan Toscano-Anderson while fortifying the interior with Thomas Bryant and Damian Jones.
Biggest Question
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Can the James-Davis-Westbrook trio coexist?
Role players are important, but everything else is meaningless if the Lakers can't get their stars aligned.
Now, last season the three earned more of an incomplete grade than an outright failure, but their 21-game run together wasn't exactly dominant. The Lakers went 11-10 in those contests, but more worrisome was their minus-3.5 net rating across 393 minutes together, per NBA.com.
On paper, the fit is all kinds of funky. Davis and Westbrook are erratic shooters from three. James and Westbrook both work best with the ball in their hands. Westbrook's preferred playing speed is several notches above that of his co-stars.
Talent can sometimes overcome logistical issues, but there is a lot for Ham and his staff to solve here.
Prediction
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The Lakers should be decent—if they stay healthy.
James played 56 games last season, while Davis played just 40. If those numbers don't both significantly rise, then this campaign is going nowhere fast. There are too many flaws on this team and too much depth in the Western Conference for the club to overcome more high-profile injury problems.
If they keep those two upright, though, they should be solid. The youth will help, as will Ham's voice. A fully bought-in Westbrook could be interesting, though our crystal ball still thinks he's headed out of town at some point.
A healthy Lakers team is probably a playoff participant. It might have to win a play-in game or two to lock down the spot, but it should avoid the lottery.
What it won't do, though, is return to championship contention. Even if James and Davis are both superhuman in the postseason—a huge ask given the former's mileage and the latter's injury history—this team doesn't have enough to take home the title.
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