Why the Lakers are built to take over the West from the Warriors
By Jason Reed
1. The Lakers’ young trio can emulate the Warriors’ young trio
The Los Angeles Lakers have something seriously dangerous going on and I do not think the rest of the league notices. Los Angeles has the likes of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma all on the roster. All three players are arguably in the top 10 under 23. Ingram and Ball are arguably in the top five under 21.
These three guys have already carried the Lakers to nearly match their win total from last season before the All-Star Break.
Although Ball is out with an MCL injury, he is one of five players to average 10 or more points and seven or more rebounds and assists per game. Kuzma is arguably the sleeper of the 2017 NBA Draft (alongside Donovan Mitchell) and Ingram is on track to be at all-star caliber next season.
These three guys are going to be good and in three seasons all three will arguably be all-stars. While they are nowhere similar in terms of play style, the young trio the Lakers have crafted is very much using the same groundwork that the Warriors used with their young trio; Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Those three guys developed and made the Warriors what they are today. The prospects of playing with them brought in guys like Andrew Bogut, who played a big role in their first title. In turn, that eventually led Kevin Durant to join the fray.
While Ball, Ingram and Kuzma may not match the talent of the Warriors young three, they do not need to. They are all going to progress into great players which, in turn, will only lead to great effects.