Why the Los Angeles Lakers are better than you think
By Jason Reed
1. The young core is already pretty far along
A lot of people do not expect much out of these Los Angeles Lakers due to the inexperienced core of players that LeBron James has joined. While there certainly is promise there, the team’s best three players had no more than two years of NBA experience, with two of those players coming off rookie years.
And while the mainstream NBA media may not recognize it, the young foursome of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart is actually farther along than it should be and much more talent that many would give credit for.
Ingram and Kuzma are great secondary scoring options that will take some of the pressure off LeBron. While they are no Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love, the duo can score the basketball.
Kuzma averaged 16.1 points per game in his rookie season and will most likely see similar numbers next season.
Ingram jumped from 9.4 points per game to 16.1 points per game last season and has shown all signs of making the steps towards being a 20 points per game guy.
Throw in Lonzo Ball, who averaged 10.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game at 19 years old and Josh Hart, who really came into his own last season and in the summer league and that is a great supporting cast.
It may not be a second superstar, but the Los Angeles Lakers have a core group of five guys that are all very talented.