The greatest franchise in the NBA will begin its 2022 season tonight! The NBA chose four teams to open up the year and The Los Angeles Lakers made the cut - because of course lol. The campaign this year will begin in San Francisco against the reigning champs, the Golden State Warriors. As per usual, there are countless storylines, side stories, things to watch for and narratives that one could dive into. I’m going to focus on what are, to me, the biggest storylines and will determine exactly what this season ends up being.
Health. LeBron is 37 years old. Anthony Davis has monikers that speak to his injury history. They’re only two guys but the Lakers roster is entirely dependent on those two being healthy and on the court. The last time we saw them playing extensive minutes together they were able to win the franchise number 17th NBA Championship. Anytime these two top 5 talents in the league play alongside each other the ceiling is a championship but as many people know, they haven’t played a whole lot together since that 2020 chip was won. According to Statmuse, the two only shared the floor 22 times in the 21-22 season and the team suffered mightily! Just two years removed from a title, the team didn’t even make the playoffs, finishing with a 33-49 record. Eww. This roster – and every roster since trading for Anthony Davis – will only be successful if Bron AND AD are both on the floor more than not. Health is the primary storyline that will determine the outcome of this season.
Russell Westbrook. Russ was acquired with the specific intention of alleviating offensive playmaking and ball handling duties from Bron. Russ was the most available of the Lakers “Big 3” as he played in 78 games in his first year in L.A. That’s the good news…and that’s about all the good news there is. When the announcement was made that the Lakers were trading for the former MVP there were a litany of questions about how he’d fit on the floor with Bron and AD. Russ has always been able to score but not many of those points came from 3 and floor spacing is always a premium on Bron-led squads. Also, would he be ok playing 3rd fiddle for the first time in his career? LBJ is a leader everywhere he goes and it’s often in his teammates best interest to fall in line. AD was made the focal point of the offense by the coaching staff and Bron himself so he’ll get his touches for sure which leaves Russ as #3 of this Big 3. None of that has Westbrook’s name on it. None! A naturally outspoken, forthright and type-A personality in his own right, Russ is not known for being a good follower. I could list a number of stats to prove that things didn’t blend well but I’ll settle for a few notables – a career low in Player Efficiency Rating, worst Usage Rating and Points Per Game since his sophomore year. No bueno. Going into Year 2 of this collection and unfortunately none of those questions have positive answers. Much of the summer we heard rumor after rumor that the Lakers were looking to move Westbrook via trade, it felt like a matter of when, not if. Yet, no trade was ever made. General Manager Rob Pelinka is looking mad shaky after not finding a way to get a deal done and carrying this charade on into another season. To make matters more suspect the Lakers traded for Patrick Beverly. Yes, the Pat Bev that has had open words exchanged with Russ. If Westbrook is not dealt sooner than later this season won’t end well. What happens with him is the 2nd most impactful development to observe.
Role Players. The 2021 roster was old. The Lakers looked for familiarity from the 2020 championship team so they brought back seasoned guys like Avery Bradley, Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard. They added other veterans like Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington, Deandre Jordan and Kent Bazemore. To be frank, none of them provided much. Melo was fifth on the team in Points Per Game but it was really Malik Monk (who was brought in on a one-year, Veteran Minimum deal) that was the best signing. Malik and all the uncles are gone now and the Lakers have a new supporting cast that’ll be donning the royal purple and gold. Kendrick Nunn (who missed all last season with a bone injury) is ready to go along with new faces such as Lonnie Walker IV, the aforementioned Pat Bev and Juan Toscano-Anderson. Austin Reaves is back and will presumably see bigger minutes after showing he can be valuable as a floor spacer and perimeter defender. Dennis Schröder is back, at a much cheaper deal than the Lakers offered him two years ago, as are Damian Jones and Wenyen Gabriel. Biggest questions around these support pieces; can any of them provide respectable three-point shooting? Can they defend enough on the outside while AD protects the paint? And can the likes of Nunn and Lonnie provide enough scoring when Bron and/or AD are off the floor? Only time will tell and tell it will when we look back on this season once it ends.
Much will be said about this Lakers 2022 battle to be a contender again in what is a loaded Western Conference. Missing the playoffs again will not go over well even if there is a new Head Coach and supporting cast. LeBron is in his 20th season and while he hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down (he had a fire chasedown block in the preseason) we all know the clock is ticking on The King. We’re the Lakers. We want banners. We want rings. We want #18. Let’s see what these boys can do!
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