Fansided

Los Angeles Lakers 2015 NBA Season Preview

By Cody Williams

Oct 13, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) and coach Byron Scott react during the game against the Sacramento Kings at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 13, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) and coach Byron Scott react during the game against the Sacramento Kings at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 13, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) reacts during the game against the Sacramento Kings at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 13, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) reacts during the game against the Sacramento Kings at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

Final Prediction

The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t the joke that they were around the league last season. By the simple process of adding NBA-level talent and depth to their roster and by having Kobe Bryant back on the floor, the Lakers aren’t going to be a team that opponents can see on the schedule and instantly mark down as W.

Even with the addition of Hibbert, Bass, and Williams, bringing in the rookie Russell and de facto rookie Randle, and the return of Kobe Bryant, this team still has major question marks surrounding them. What does Kobe have left in the tank? How will Russell and Randle fare in their first full season at the professional level? Is Jordan Clarkson just a great-stats-on-a-bad-team guy or an actual contributor? What does this frontcourt do if someone gets injured? The list goes on.

Ultimately, the Lakers have at least the outline for a decent NBA team and this team is going to be entertaining at times this year. However, I don’t believe that Byron Scott is a good coach, I’m not sure how the offense is going to function with so many ball-dominant players in the rotation, and their defense—even with Hibbert—is likely going to be abysmal again.

The future for the Los Angeles Lakers is bright and we are certainly going to see flashes of that this season alongside some quality veterans. However, I don’t think that translates to much success in the 2015-16 season as I have them out of the playoffs and hoping their lottery pick falls in the top-three so that they can keep it and not have it head to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Predicted Record: 25-57

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