Los Angeles Lakers: Three biggest concerns of the 2019 season
By Jason Reed
1. The breakout players not breaking out
The foundation of the Los Angeles Lakers is obviously the superstar duo that the franchise has been working so hard to get. However, despite having a very solid foundation, the Lakers will not do anything if the guys around Anthony Davis and LeBron James don’t step up.
This is not a case of the Lakers having three or even four all-stars on their roster. In that instance, the team has much more wiggle room in the role players that they bring in around the stars. In this case, LeBron and Davis simply cannot do it at all.
We see it all the time in the postseason. Whoever has the hot bench guy that swings the momentum of a game oftentimes wins the series.
The Lakers have several players that are capable of having a break out year to fill into that role. Bench pieces such as Avery Bradley, Alex Caruso and even Dwight Howard can all provide a huge impact off the bench if they play up to their top expectations.
However, there is the concern of none of those breakout players not having a breakout season, which drastically hurts the depth of this team. The ceiling is so high for the Lakers’ bench, but it is also so low as well.
The likes of Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green and JaVale McGee are reliable enough to bank on them as effective role players. The Lakers are going to need at least one more role player to step up and join that trio.