The NBA season is quickly approaching and soon the Los Angeles Lakers will be reporting for training camp. With LeBron James in the fold and a group of veteran free agents on board for support, the 2018-19 NBA season promises to open a new chapter in the Lakers’ history books.
On this episode of the Lakers Nation Podcast, host Trevor Lane and guest Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype discuss the new-look Lakers and what the Western Conference has in store for them.
It’s a deep, talented conference featuring not just championship favorites like the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets but also a large group of teams who rightly consider themselves to be playoff contenders.
Teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Portland Trailblazers, Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans all join the Lakers in a packed group that will consider their season a failure if they don’t make it to the postseason. Unfortunately, it’s likely that at least two of the aforementioned teams won’t make the cut.
What does this mean for the Lakers’ hopes? Could they drop out of the playoff race or does the presence of James, the improving young core, and the veteran free agents mean that Los Angeles is a lock to snap their playoff drought?
Plus, we dig into the Lakers’ training camp strategy that involved them creating competition for each starting position. Is this going to create division within the team or is it just the thing that they need in order to truly gel before the season begins?
We also touch on Andrew Bynum’s potential comeback and what the news that he has trained at the Lakers’ practice facility means for his chances of returning to the franchise that drafted him.
All that and tons more, to listen to the show just click on the player above.
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