The Los Angeles Lakers are looking forward to proving everyone wrong in the 2022-23 season and finding a way to make a big 3 of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook work. New coach Darvin Ham is determined to find a system that allows each player to thrive, but we are yet to see anything concrete.
After a 30-point loss to open their preseason, LeBron spoke to the media about what the second year of his trio with AD and Westbrook will look like. Even though Westbrook has been in trade rumors all summer, James ensured to emphasize that all the three needed was time on the court together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmUJVd38Cd4
“It’s all about time. The more time and minutes we can log on the floor, the more and more comfortable we become. 23 games is not enough to see what we’re capable of. Hopefully, we can surpass that this year.”
If this trio plays less than 23 games this year, it will be one of the worst cases of continued injury and bad luck we have seen a team face in recent years. The Lakers have seen 2 seasons go awry because of injuries, and they will be praying that their big 3 can stay healthy for a majority of the season.
What Is The Best Case Scenario For The Lakers Big 3?
For the Lakers, they have to find a way to make this partnership work on the court. This could be a system where the coaches stagger the usage of all 3 players in a way that defines which player will be in the paint or will be the screener, depending on the situation. Westbrook can playmaker out of those situations, and so can ‘Bron, so they can be used interchangeably at times.
If LeBron continues his scoring from last season, we see a healthy AD who is making an impact on both sides of the floor and a motivated Westbrook willing to compromise for the team, the Lakers could have a much higher ceiling than anticipated.
If the dysfunction continues, a trade to send Westbrook away is bound to shut this experiment down.
