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The Season Starts Today! The Lakers are Legit Title Contenders. Plus, Jrue Holiday to Boston.



The long offseason is over. The season starts today, as training camp kicks off with Media Day and the first official practices.

And it promises to be an exciting season for the Lakers, who are undoubtedly in the mix of the most elite teams in the NBA. Should they stay healthy – a fairly big if given the age and injury histories of their stars – LA seems likely to be one of the two or three best teams in the West, which makes them one of the best teams in the league.

Nice spot to be.

So when the Lakers open camp, it’s going to be about how to keep LeBron and Anthony Davis healthy and fresh, about finding the right lineup combinations, and maxing out the impressive depth available on the roster. Two players that have big roles to play that aren’t stars? Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. Both had a lot of attention paid to them last week when Rob Pelinka and Darvin Ham med the media. Reaves was the recipient of high praise from Pelinka, who compared him to Kobe Bryant as an owner of “the Mamba gene.” Not that he’s as good as Kobe (nobody even kind of thinks that) but Pelinka noted the similarities in competitive drive and commitment, and it’s worth noting how much Bryant appreciated players who maxed out their talent. And while Reaves has more of it than perhaps NBA scouts thought, he’s certainly not resting on any laurels.

Fair to say Kobe would have loved the guy.

Meanwhile, Hachimura has experienced what Pelinka called a renaissance since coming to the Lakers. And they expect that to continue. One reason to be optimistic? Context with role players is critical, and the Lakers believe that, especially next to LeBron, Hachimura has been put in the best position to succeed.

Finally, big news in the Western Conference… as Jrue Holiday’s stay in it was very short. And while Lakers fans might not love his destination — he’s once again put the Celtics at the top of the odds list after being traded from Portland to Boston — it’s a lot better that he land with an Eastern Conference contender than turning a team like the Clippers into a much more potent squad.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers open training camp today, and the vibes are really solid.

SEGMENT 2: Jrue Holiday was traded to the Celtics, and that’s good for the Lakers.

SEGMENT 3: The Lakers will be depending on Hachimura and Reaves, and are excited at the prospect.

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27 Comments

  3. benjamin padilla

    No teams are legit till the regular season is over . One of your star' gets injured it's over . So the Lakers have as much chance as the top ten teams .

  4. Lion King

    If Morris from clippers gets traded and bought out would you want him on a vet min?

  5. A. R.

    The Lakers' roster has incredible potential. If Jackson Hayes (8th overall), Cam Reddish (10th overall), Taurean Prince (12th overall), and undrafted Christian Wood reach their full potential, the Lakers could have the strongest and most well-rounded team in the NBA. 🏀🌟

  6. Diego Bromfield

    On paper along with recent history in the past few years, the Bucks should be the favourites. Then Nuggets. Then Lakers. No way in hell Suns & Celtics should be above those teams. They have chokers as their best players (Booker, Tatum, Brown) & they haven't won anything either. Odds makers trying to rip people off. 😅

  10. Lazy_Bonez1 Ape_Man

    Not financial advice, but AMC stock is about to melt up. They just acquired the distribution rights to Beyoncé and Taylor Swift recent tours and tickets are on sale now and their stock is at an all-time low.

  12. Bob Daniels

    Ideally Prince should start at SF but it won’t work with Lebro at PF cuz lebro refuses to box out , lakers need a combo forward who can rebound well to complement lebron , Rui is better rebounder but he can’t guard perimeter SFs, Vando not a good box out rebounder despite his size and the shooting hurt too much , lakers will be forced to start either Wood at C or Prince at SF to go with AD Lebro

  14. Y Z

    Man if we get malcom brogdon for dlo and a first we will come out the west. With malcom spacing and AD dominance even with injured lebron playing we will make it out the west. Rob pelinka needs to go all in on this trade its a do or die move.

  16. JR L

    Gabe vincent is trash , this dude Vincent have been a downgrade

  19. CountDabula

    I think the only "question mark" regarding AR is just how high his ceiling is, like he's solidified himself as a starting/finishing key player and playmaker, I just hope to continue seeing a continuation of improvement, but i do have faith in him as the kind of player he is to put the work and effort in to successfully do so.

  23. Randal Colvin

    picking a potential champion is tough. why? it's because everybody is good. loading up with superstars is more often a flop than a ring. i'd say chemistry with 2 stars and the rest 85% level players who know their roles is more likely to win than the the 2003,04 laker super team.. coaching and organization is a factor most kids and beat writers don't throw in the mix. boston with a pack of players that might not make a college roster won 9 titles with auerbach and jackson won 11. only players like giannis, curry, lillard, and maybe ja morant can throw a team on their back and go all the way. otherwise, i'd bet on chemistry over superstars. so who will win this year? the llakers of course!!

  25. luca sanfilippo

    LeBron "healthy" can help the Lakers to be Better but cant help the Lakers beating Denver… This stuff about LeBron being healthy, so that the Lakers have a chance against Denver, is like Bigfoot or Nessi, it's a myth, a Legend and we should already know, that, if nobody else steps up, AD or Reaves, or Rui, or whatever, the Lakers are going to lose 10 series out of 10 against Denver… No matter how healthy LeBron and his foot Will be, he Will continue to shot bricks from the arc in the 4th and he Will kill the tempo of the Lakers, as he used to, with the difference that in the past he didnt use to throw bricks.. somebody Sais he has never been a closer, and it's a lie. Maybe he wouldnt take the last shot, but in the 4th, in a couple of minutes he would have scored 12 points, killing the opponent. Well that LeBron is gone.. this fake idea let the Lakers with Just One way to win, and that's the Hope that all the opponents are going to fail: Denver because it has no depth compared to last year, Phoenix because it is not well built, the Bucks because they have no defense etc etc..
    If you all think about the many players of the team like a way to rest lebron, your thought starts from a fake idea that make all the reasoning wrong..
    on the other hand if you think about the many good players the team has, like the possibilty of somebody stepping up and filling the spots left by this westbrookesque version of LeBron, the chance of winning are not that unrealistic..

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