The Los Angeles Lakers made a number of roster changes this offseason and the majority of them involved bringing in olde rveterans, which have led many to make jokes at the team’s expense. Despite LeBron James showing he defies all logic, many believe the Lakers’ age could be their undoing this season.
The likes of Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Trevor Ariza, despite being up in the latter portion of their careers, have proven recently that they can still contribute at a high level. While some aren’t sure about the Lakers, ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins thinks it is crazy for anyone to doubt them.
Perkins spoke with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson of Bally Sports Network and said shame on anyone calling the Lakers too old and believes people are forgetting just how good Anthony Davis is:
Lakers’ Anthony Davis is best player in the NBA when healthy on BOTH sides of the floor, Dwight Howard is STILL the best backup center in the game today, Russell Westbrook is still in his prime @KendrickPerkins tells @BallySports. pic.twitter.com/nBcjq2H0Uh
— ???? Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson ???? (@ScoopB) September 3, 2021
“I say shame on them for whoever said that. When you look at Dwight Howard who is still the best backup center in the game today. Still to this day Dwight Howard can get you 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 16 minutes. Then you look at Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook is still in his prime. He might only have two years left, but he is still in his prime. The real old head on that team is Melo. But Melo has shown us even last year, Melo was a guy that could’ve been in the running for winning Sixth Man of the Year. He’s a guy that’s still a walking bucket, great shape.
Chris Paul showed us that age doesn’t matter, what he did this year for the Phoenix Suns. Age don’t matter. Especially when you talk about skillset, you talk about IQ we already know LeBron James is not human. But here’s the one thing that people just keep missing Scoop. People keep missing the point that Anthony Davis is only 28 years old. Anthony Davis when healthy, is arguably the best player in the NBA when healthy, on both sides of the floor. This is a guy that can get you 40 points, 15 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 steals. Good luck to whoever goes against the Lakers in the Western Conference and try to beat them in a seven game series. The nest time somebody bring up to you Scoop, about the Lakers being too old, ask them would they bet it all on any other team against them in a seven game series when the postseason comes along.”
Davis will surely be the key for the Lakers this season as he is truly the Lakers’ biggest matchup nightmare for all opponents in addition to being the anchor of the defense. Perkins also brought up a good point about Westbrook still being much closer to his physical prime than people think.
A lot of work must still be done in order for the Lakers to come together and find the success that they are hoping for, but as Perkins said, betting against them especially in a playoff series may not be the smartest move.
Perkins believes Durant is best player in the world over James
Perkins also gave his thoughts on the NBA’s best player, proclaiming that Kevin Durant currently holds that top spot over LeBron James. Furthermore, Perkins noted that it’s about time someone stepped up and dethroned James as he has held that spot for so long.
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