Los Angeles Lakers rumors filled up the sports page a lot during the NBA offseason. Now that the preseason is well underway, those Lakers rumors have shifted from player acquisitions and draft projections to whether or not this team can make the postseason. With some new faces on the roster, including guard Lonzo Ball, Lakers fans start starting to court hopes of making it to the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
Is it too early to state that the Lakers have a much-improved roster from the one that failed to make the playoffs last season? Probably, but it’s also far too early to throw in the towel on this group of players, despite an ugly start to the preseason.
So far, the LA Lakers are 0-3 this month, with losses to the lowly Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets. Those are two other teams that would have a very difficult time making the postseason.
How is Lonzo Ball doing for the Lakers?
Ball has played two preseason games for the Lakers so far. He has averaged 6.5 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. Those are the positive numbers for the rookie point guard and they are certainly something to build off of moving forward. Less flattering is that he is shooting 33.3 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range. Ball is also averaging 3.5 turnovers per game.
The leader for the Lakers this preseason has been forward Kyle Kuzma, who is averaging 21 points per game.
Appearing in all three games for the team, he is shooting 65.8 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from three-point range. While not many Los Angeles Lakers rumors have mentioned him by name, these preseason numbers show he might be deserving of a spot in the regular rotation this year.
Do the Lakers have enough talent to make the playoffs?
If the NBA season started today, the starting lineup for the LA Lakers would have Lonzo Ball at point guard, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at shooting guard, Brandon Ingram at small forward, Julius Randle at power forward, and Brook Lopez at center. Primary players coming off the bench include Luol Deng, Corey Brewer, Tyler Ennis, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., and Ivica Zubac.
Kyle Kuzma is pushing hard to join that group, but on paper, the first 10 players look talented enough to get this team to the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
The Utah Jazz just took a hit by losing Dante Exum for the season and the Portland Trail Blazers are struggling to deal with the absence of Allen Crabbe on that roster. That’s two playoff teams from last year that might struggle to make it back to the postseason. Head-to-head games with the Jazz and Blazers will be very important for the Lakers to win this season. While there is still a long road ahead in order to this roster to gel and start performing, fans of the team would love to see March and April Los Angeles Lakers rumors be about the NBA Playoffs and not which players to target in free agency.
