Three-time NBA champion calls out Lakers in worst imaginable way image
It's almost impossible to get a feel for how the Los Angeles Lakers really look on both sides of the basketball at the moment.
On the one hand, the Lakers are in a good spot to win a championship, and a lot of that is because of how good Luka Doncic is.
There's genuinely no debate that Doncic is one of the best five players in the world and, at any given moment, can be the best player on the court. He's going to continue to be a superstar from top to bottom, and because of that, the Lakers always have a chance.
However, others question if the Lakers are that good in the other parts of the game. There have been times when the Lakers look decent, and others when things just don't go as planned.
It's not crazy to say Los Angeles isn't one of the best teams in the league outside of Doncic, which is why a former NBA champion making those comments shouldn't be viewed as much more than the honest truth.
“I’m not going to say borderline. They’re pretenders… I think they’ll make the playoffs, but again, to [Olden Polynice’s] point, defense wins championships still in this league,” Byron Scott said, H/T Heavy. “I know we glorify the threes and all the offense and things of that nature, but at the end of the day, you got to get stops, right?”
The Lakers' defense is where a lot of this comes into question. Even Doncic himself isn't a great defender, though he makes up for it on the offensive end.
The key is that the Lakers can still make moves before next year's trade deadline, giving them a chance to be one of the better teams in the league.
It'll be interesting to see what buttons Rob Pelinka can push, but there's a lot to like if things can go as planned.
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