Los Angeles Lakers 2024-25 season preview: LeBron James, Father Time and a loaded West

(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We’re breaking down the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy outlooks for all 30 teams. Enjoy!

LOS ANGELES LAKERS

2023-24 finish

Record: 47-35 (lost in the first round to the Nuggets, but they also won the in-season tournament, so, y’know: not all bad)

Offensive rating: 115.4 (15th)

Defensive rating: 114.8 (17th)

Offseason moves

The Big Question: Can LeBron + AD still give you a chance?

Two seasons ago, the Lakers’ fortunes turned when they ended the Russell Westbrook experiment in favor of surrounding LeBron James and Anthony Davis with more players who could shoot and defend. (Which, you might recall, is how they won the 2020 NBA championship.) The result: an 18-9 close to the regular season, a top-seven point differential in that span, and playoff victories over the Grizzlies and Warriors before losing to the Nuggets.

Last season, after sputtering at .500 on Feb. 1, their fortunes started to turn when Ham surrounded James and Davis with Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura — three players who could shoot and (kinda) defend. The result: a 22-10 close, the league’s No. 3 offense, and a play-in victory over the Pelicans before, um, losing to the Nuggets.

We know this much: First-time head coach Redick won’t wait 50 games to lean into what works, intending to start that lineup from Jump Street. For good reason: LeBron-AD-Reaves-Russell-Hachimura outscored opponents by 6.9 points per 100 possessions last season, scoring at a top-three clip while defending like a top-seven unit. The lineup replicated that success in the playoffs, too, outscoring Denver by 14 points in its 96 minutes.

A lineup featuring multiple plus shooters and ball-handlers to lighten LeBron’s playmaking load that can leverage great positional size on defense while pounding the paint on offense — L.A. finished second in the NBA in the share of its shots that came at the rim, first in field-goal percentage at the rim, and second in free-throw rate — is a great starting point. Think back to how remarkable James looked…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/los-angeles-lakers-2024-25-season-preview-lebron-james-father-time-and-a-loaded-west-150728387.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-09 15:07:28

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