As the reigning, defending NBA Champions, the Los Angeles Lakers are certainly considered major contenders for the 2021 title. So long as LeBron James and Anthony Davis remain healthy, it’s easy to see how they might be successful in repeating as Champions.
But there lies a rather glaring issue with the Lakers: their inconsistencies on offense. Outside of the two stars, the Purple and Gold don’t really seem to have anyone they can count on to score in the postseason. And, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, that could be an especially damaging quality in this new, revolutionized NBA.
“This is going to be a test of of history here because historically you are correct you have to be about a top 10 or 11 defensive team to be a NBA champion the record speaks for itself but we are playing in a season we are seeing historically off the charts offense.
When in the postseason you can actually practice and game plan uh in between games will we see a return to normalcy? The Lakers better hope so…. You’re right their defense is spectacular but they’re but they can’t bring it every night offensively.
I don’t think they can do it four out of seven times so they have to they’re going to have to hope that things return to what we normally see in the postseason because if they don’t this is set for the Nets to win it.”
When you compare the defensive-oriented Lakers to that of their Brooklyn counterparts, the differences are quite glaring. Besides Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving, the Nets have Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Joe Harris on their roster, an assembly that makes them, arguably, one of the greatest offensive teams in NBA history.
How can the Lakers have any hope of slowing them down? Is it possible for them to keep up?
We’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the end, but it’s safe to say they can be considered underdogs at this point in time.
