Are the Lakers Back?

Feb 27

The Los Angeles Lakers have seemingly finally done it. They finally look to be a real competitive team after the Westbrook trade. The Lakers have a nice three-game win streak, and I think the reason for this is the added depth to the roster.

Notable additions to the Lakers include Mo Bamba, D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt. Of these players, the biggest impact can be felt almost immediately from Russell, Beasley, and Vanderbilt. Russell is essentially replacing Westbrook on the roster, and with that comes a decent hole to fill, as Westbrook was meant to be the third star, but unfortunately, things didn’t pan out that way.

Russell is averaging in the range of 17 points per game (PPG) with five assists. Beasley gave the Lakers two 20-plus point games in only five games played as a Laker so far and is averaging about 1.8 steals. Lastly, Jarred Vanderbilt has averaged about 8.6 PPG, 1.6 steals, 2.4 assists, and 8.8 rebounds.

The Lakers have put together a team capable of winning games without asking for LeBron and Anthony Davis to be the sole driving forces behind those wins. This is a step in the right direction if the Lakers want any hope of still making playoff contention for this current NBA season.