As we all know, whether the Lakers can hoist the NBA No. 18 championship banner will depend on the abilities of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
James and Davis have enough weapons to help them win the 2024 championship. To reach the top of the NBA, the Lakers must first stand out in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.
They begin their campaign in Denver on Tuesday night against the Nuggets, a team that swept them in last season’s conference finals en route to winning the franchise’s first championship.
The Lakers will take on the talented Phoenix Suns at home on Thursday night, and they have one of the most lethal trios in the league: Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley… Bill.
The Clippers have a healthy Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and Kim has the league’s best shooters in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, as well as Draymond Green and new signing Chris Paul. The State Warriors, also a title contender to the Lakers, went to the West to deal.
“We’re just at the beginning of this journey,” coach Davon Hamm said, “and we have a high-level group of thinkers in our program from top to bottom.”
Here are five storylines for the Lakers this season:
Can they stay healthy?
It’s no exaggeration to say that the health of James and Davis is critical to the Lakers’ success.
James, who turned 39 in December, missed 27 games last season due to a right foot injury that “resulted in almost an entire tendon tear.”
In his 55 games, James still played at a high level. He averaged 35.5 minutes per game, 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists. I shot 32.1% from three-point range and 76.8% from the free throw line.
Still, James is entering his 21st season and his sixth with the Lakers.
Lakers stars Anthony Davis (left) and LeBron James will start the 2023-24 season healthy and with championship hopes in mind.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
There are a lot of nights where he can carry the Lakers, but on the nights when he’s not top, that’s when Davis has to be the main guy.
Davis, 30, missed 26 games last season with a foot injury. But the Lakers still gave him a three-year, $186 million contract extension, locking him in through the 2027-28 season.
“My goal is to play 82 games a year,” Davis said at media day.
James publicly stated that this is Davis’ team now.
Davis played 56 games last season, averaging 34 minutes per game, averaging 25.9 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 blocks, the highest figures in the league.
I shot 56.3% from the field and 78.4% from the free throw line.
Even though Davis is shooting just 25.7 percent from three-point range, Hamm said he wants his forward/center to take six three-pointers per game.
Regardless, Davis shot 46.2 percent from 3-point range during the preseason.
Looking for Winged Man
Which player will step into the void and become the third leading scorer? They have many options.
Could it be Austin Reeves, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, or even Gabe Vincent?
“We have a lot of guys who can take on this responsibility, and we need every one of them,” Hamm said. “If we were planning this as a nine-month journey, everyone in the locker room would be reading that.”
After emerging in the playoffs, Reeves averaged 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists while shooting 44.3% from three-point range, indicating that he is ready to take his game to another level. This summer, he represented the United States in the FIBA World Cup, averaging 13.8 points per game in eight games, shooting 57% from the field and 50% from three-point range.
Lakers guard Austin Reeves, who will start in the backcourt with D’Angelo Russell this season, enjoys a relaxing moment with teammate Rui Hachimura during media day.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
After the Lakers introduced Russell last season, he averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists in 17 games and shot 41.4% from three-point range. In six preseason games, he averaged 13.5 points on 57.4 percent shooting from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range, and made a conscious effort to improve his defense.
Hachimura took a big step forward in the playoffs, averaging 12.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 55.3% from the field and 48.7% from three-point range. I scored a career-high 29 points in the playoffs against Memphis.
Vincent played for the Miami Heat last season and made a huge contribution in the playoffs, averaging 12.7 points per game in the Finals and shooting 37.8% from three-point range.
James, Davis, Reeves, Russell, Rui Hachimura and Vincent join Jared Vanderbilt, Taurean Prince, Christian Wood, Cam Reddish , Jackson Hayes and sophomore guard Max Christie.
This gives the ham a lot of options.
Who will be the fifth starter?
James, Davis, Reeves and Russell will start, but it won’t be known until Saturday who will be the fifth starter.
After practice, Ham announced that Prince would be the fifth starter.
He started the final five preseason games after Jared Vanderbilt suffered a heel injury that kept the forward out of Denver’s regular-season opener.
Lakers head coach Davin Hamm (left) talks to guard D’Angelo Russell on the sideline during a preseason game against the Bucks.
(Mark J. Trier/AP)
Prince is known as a very good three-point shooter, averaging 9.3 points per game during the preseason, shooting 55.9% from the field and 45.8% from three-point range.
Ham’s guiding hand
Hamm’s continued maturation in his second season will also be important.
After starting last season at 2-10, Ham stayed the course and made sure his team did the same. The Lakers’ final appearance in the Western Conference Finals proved Ham’s ability to lead the team.
“Coach Hamm, you can see how he gets better and better throughout the season, and then we see how he makes great moves in the playoffs,” Lakers legend and five-time champion Magic Johnson said. “I’m really impressed with Coach Hamm’s abilities.”