The Los Angeles Lakers have all the tools they need to succeed. They have experience, leaders, and plenty of shooters and defenders.
But for all their talent, the Purple and Gold are still flawed in many different ways. ESPN’s Jalen Rose detailed one of those problems in a segment on ‘Jalen & Jacoby.’
“The Lakers are gonna have problems defending the best point guards in the NBA and containing the ball off the dribble,” said Rose. “That’s gonna be an issue all season.”
Of course, the biggest issue with L.A. right now is their age. Most of the core players are well beyond their 30th birthday and, as Jalen pointed out, it means that the Lakers will not be able to match the energy of some of their competitors throughout the regular season.
Their losses against the Oklahoma City Thunder are perfect examples of that.
Still, Jaylen has the Lakers as the favorites to win it all, even though he expects the team to fall somewhere below the top two seeds in the Western Conference standings.
“In the offseasons, when we say a squad is ‘old’ this is a perfect example of why I say ‘yes, they’re my clear cut favorites to win it all but by no means were they gonna be the first or second seed in the West. LeBron needs to rest and load manage. “
After ANOTHER LOSS to the Thunder, @jalenrose and @djacoby break down the issues that will plague L.A. all season 😳 pic.twitter.com/pcLpQjo7eZ
— Jalen & Jacoby (@JalenandJacoby) November 5, 2021
The problems go on and on for the Lakeshow. Russell Westbrook is clearly not a good fit with the current roster, the defense has been atrocious, and Anthony Davis has yet to match his level of play during their 2020 run.
Needless to say, there will be plenty of challenges and obstacles to overcome for the Lakers and it remains to be seen how they will deal with them all.
But when you’ve got LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, and Carmelo Anthony on your team, you’re always going to get the benefit of the doubt.
