The Los Angeles Lakers seem stacked with talent heading into the 2023-24 NBA season. Led no less by LeBron James and Anthony Davis anew, it appears that the Purple and Gold are a team to watch. However, with several other teams also upgrading their roster, seeing the Lakers win it all this NBA season will not be an easy task.
With that in mind, it would be best to detail what factors could prevent LeBron James and the Lakers from winning the Larry O'Brien trophy. Here are five major problems that stand in the way.
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1. Anthony Davis - Lakers players should play their game.
Anthony Davis has been pretty vocal about not wanting to play the middle, Sports Illustrated reported. He prefers the power forward position, although that will depend on the situation.
Most see Darvin Ham still using Davis in the middle to be able to use a smaller lineup against teams. Again, this is situational, and the All-Star center needs to be mature enough to accept it.
2. D'Angelo Russell's status is a distraction.
Although he was given a new lease, there remains talk that D'Angelo Russell could be traded at some point. That will depend on how well the 27-year-old can prove his efficiency this season.
Most fans still recall his disappearing act in the last Western Conference Finals. Consistency is the key, and D'Lo needs to prove that - not only with the Lakers but also against critics.
3. The Lakers need to mesh.
Aside from the four players, there are other notable names in the mix for Ham. That list includes Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, Taurean Prince, Max Christie, and Christian Wood.
Hachimura and Vanderbilt had enough time to acclimate to the Lakers' system. However, newcomers such as Vincent, Reddish, Hayes, Prince, and Wood will also need to blend in.
4. Who will be the third superstar for LA?
Like in previous years, the big question for the Lakers is who that third superstar will be. D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves may be the first players that come to mind, although consistency is key.
Russell proved effective in some games last season before failing to help the purple and gold in the Western Conference Finals.
Reaves, on the other hand, has been a revelation and has unsurprisingly shot to fame, per the Los Angeles Times. He has picked up his game, one of the reasons he was selected to be part of Team USA at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
5. LeBron and Davis need to stay healthy.
Although he will turn 39 in December, there is no doubt that LeBron James remains one of the best players in the league. But this is on the premise that he is on the hardcourt and playing side-by-side with his teammates.
Based on Darvin Ham's statements in a previous post here on Sports World News, the four-time NBA champion allegedly looks like LeBron James, who entered the league in his 3rd and 4th years.
Aside from James, there is also Anthony Davis. The 6-foot-11 cager has yet to play 82 regular season games since entering the NBA in 2012. The most games he has played is 75 games during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons when he was still with the New Orleans Pelicans, per Basketball-Reference.
Once these are addressed, the Lakers should be a force to be reckoned with this 2023-24 NBA season.
Lastly, the Lakers must find a way to play games without LeBron James. Only through this will the team prove they can move on if the 19-time All-Star eventually calls it a career. Failure to do so means that their gathering of talent is futile.
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