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The Los Angeles Lakers are somehow being underrated

By Jason Reed

EL SEGUNDO, CA - JULY 13: Anthony Davis (R) talks with LeBron James after during a press conference where Davis was introduced as the newest player of the Los Angeles Lakers at UCLA Health Training Center on July 13, 2019 in El Segundo, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
EL SEGUNDO, CA - JULY 13: Anthony Davis (R) talks with LeBron James after during a press conference where Davis was introduced as the newest player of the Los Angeles Lakers at UCLA Health Training Center on July 13, 2019 in El Segundo, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Lakers made arguably the biggest trade of the offseason by landing Anthony Davis yet still are not getting the love they deserve.

The Los Angeles Lakers did what fans had been hoping the team would do the last two years: add a second superstar to the roster. Now, even though the team did not land Kawhi Leonard, the Lakers are in a great position to contend.

Yet for some reason, the team continues to be underrated by most people in the league outside of Los Angeles. To be fair, some Laker fans are over-hyping the team, but for the most part, the Lakers are not getting the collective respect that they deserve.

Just take the annual NBA wins totals as the perfect example. Caesars Entertainment released the over-under win totals for the 2019 season, and let’s just say the Lakers don’t come in as high as they should.

The Lakers are getting the fifth-highest win total in the Western Conference. Obviously, these are not perfect as they are betting odds, but it perfectly shows how the team is being underrated.

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Somehow people are looking over the fact that the Lakers have two of the six-best players in the league. It was not long ago that LeBron James single-handily carried the entire Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals and just two years ago Anthony Davis found himself in the future face of the league conversation.

But because the Lakers were not contenders and Davis did not play much after requesting a trade, people seem to forget how good they really are. Yes, LeBron is getting older, but he and Davis are both still players that are good enough to be All-NBA First-Team this season.

That alone typically leads to a team that will win at least 60 games. Factor in that the Lakers actually did a really good job of developing a deep rotation. Sure, some of the players are gambles, but the front office did an excellent job of creating a roster that can stand through the grind of the regular season.

The Lakers have three players that can eat up minutes at every position aside from center. And even at center, Davis could spend some minutes there to help split the workload.

DeMarcus Cousins is only going to be better than he was a year ago as he gets more healthy and showed a flash of his brilliance in the NBA Finals. Even at 80 percent, Cousins is an all-star.

Kyle Kuzma and JaVale McGee will be great off the bench while Alex Caruso and Avery Bradley could become a great defensive backcourt off the bench if they play to their standards.

Sure, the defense is lacking a bit, but the Los Angeles Lakers have enough playmakers to run up the score. And with Kuzma likely acting as the sixth-man, the team will have one of the better benches in basketball as well.

Yet for some reason, there is this narrative that it won’t mesh well. That LeBron’s age is going to hold back his season and that Anthony Davis isn’t the super-talented star that everyone thought he was two years ago.

And for some reason, the Houston Rockets, who everyone knows has a terrible fit with both Russell Westbrook and James Harden, have a higher win total than the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Before you know it, the Lakers are going to be heading into the 2020 calendar year with 25 wins and one of the best records in the league. Suddenly, people are going to realize that the team is better than they had initially thought.

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