Marc Stein Ranks Lakers As The 18th Best Team In The NBA, 10th Among West Teams In Latest Power Rankings

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Marc Stein Ranks Lakers As The 18th Best Team In The NBA, 10th Among West Teams In Latest Power Rankings

 

After the Los Angeles Lakers assembled the oldest roster in the NBA last season, the team has made it a priority to get some young and fresh legs on their roster, as well as role players that can provide them with some much-needed defense.

Though the team still has major issues, this roster looks obviously better than last year’s roster that had several veterans such as DeAndre Jordan, Avery Bradley, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Trevor Ariza, who are all currently unsigned so far this offseason.

The Lakers will also look to start the upcoming season with a new head coach in Darvin Ham and a healthy pairing of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. They have a lot of things to figure out going forward, but it’s a good fresh start for a team that missed the playoffs last season.

While the Lakers have improved this offseason, Marc Stein’s latest power rankings tell us that it’s not that much to consider them as a one of the best teams in the NBA nor a legitimate playoff squad in the West.

In Stein’s power rankings, the Lakers check in at No.18 among all teams and are ranked 10th in the Western Conference behind the Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers, respectively.

 

18. Los Angeles Lakers

Do you remember back in April when LeBron James announced that “I can/will not miss the postseason again” via this tweet? The Committee’s next question: Do you believe him?

Perhaps if James, who turns 38 in December, and Anthony Davis each play 70 games this season — and then if new coach Darvin Ham can actually usher Russell Westbrook to some sort of productive role even after Patrick Beverley’s recent arrival seemingly made Lakerland even more combustible — maybe then LeBron and Co. can snag one of the West’s lower seeds. Let’s just say a lot has to go right, after one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history and a monthslong inability to find a Westbrook trade, to make James’ 20th NBA campaign memorable for anything other than his expected passing of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

 

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