Lakers Players Who Will Determine LA's Ceiling During 2021-22 Season
The Los Angeles Lakers got their first real look at the 2021-22 squad in their season-opener on Tuesday.
They'll need more time—maybe a lot more—to get a good idea of what this roster can do.
The game, a 121-114 loss to the visiting Golden State Warriors, left a mixed bag of results. LeBron James and Anthony Davis were all-caps AWESOME, combining for 67 points and 22 rebounds. Their overhauled supporting cast was much more miss than hit, starting with Russell Westbrook, who had eight points on 13 shots in his Lakers debut.
Can L.A. rebound from last season's first-round loss and capture its second world title in three years? Or are the Lakers headed toward another disappointment? The following three players will have major roles in deciding their fate.
Anthony Davis
1 of 3
While no player means more to the Lakers than James, a healthy Davis is close enough to call this a 1A-1B dynamic.
He is as dominant as it gets on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he can punish the rim, take his defender off the bounce or step away and hit a jumper. Defensively, he devours shots at the basket and pesters speedier players on the perimeter.
But there are two big questions with Davis that will determine how effective he can be and how high L.A.'s ceiling will sit: Can he stay healthy, and can he shoot threes?
He only played half of the Lakers' games last season and missed 35 contests the previous two campaigns combined. He has yet to deal with a catastrophic injury, but he can never seem to duck the injury bug for too long.
As for the shooting—a more critical part of his arsenal with Westbrook around—he's had modest success in the past, but it all disappeared last season. He attempted 100 threes and connected on just 26. His 1-of-5 showing in the opener (paired with a dismal 2-of-7 performance at the free-throw line) didn't inspire any confidence about a possible bounce-back.
Talen Horton-Tucker
2 of 3
The Lakers brought back three players from last season: James, Davis and Talen Horton-Tucker.
That highlights how much belief they have in the 20-year-old, but it also increases his importance to the team. He's no longer a pleasant surprise; he's someone they need to rely on every night.
At least, he will be once he makes it back from surgery on his right thumb.
Depending on how his game develops, he could fill several roles for this squad.
They need more defensive resistance on the perimeter, and he has the tools and tenacity to provide it. They could use more shot-creation behind James and Westbrook, and Horton-Tucker has some serious wiggle off the bounce. They could use more spacing around their stars, but it's unclear if Horton-Tucker, a career 28.5 percent shooter from distance, can help there.
Still, he's one of the few ascending players on the roster, and he theoretically offers one of the best two-way combinations of all the role players. If he makes a sizable leap, that could answer a lot of questions with this roster.
Russell Westbrook
3 of 3
It's not hyperbolic to call Westbrook's debut with the Lakers a disaster.
He had more missed field goals (nine) than points (eight). He had as many turnovers (and fouls) as assists (four each). L.A. lost his 35 minutes by 23 points, meaning it won the 13 he didn't play by 16.
Obviously, Westbrook's season won't be defined by this game, but it underscored the challenge of finding his fit.
"Him more than anybody, it's going to be an adjustment period," Lakers coach Frank Vogel told reporters. "He's coming into our culture, our system. He's the new guy, and he's got to find his way."
Westbrook is talented enough to figure things out, but his skill set isn't the most natural complement to the way James and Davis play. Still, the Lakers have bet big on Westbrook being able to serve as their third star, and even if he's not as productive as he's been in the past, he needs to be at least their third-best party more often than not.
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