Fansided

30 biggest questions for the 2018-19 NBA season

By Hunter Kuffel

OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 12: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors holds up the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy during the Golden State Warriors Victory Parade on June 12, 2018 in Oakland, 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 12: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors holds up the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy during the Golden State Warriors Victory Parade on June 12, 2018 in Oakland, 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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30. How far can LeBron take the Lakers?

Like it or not, LeBron James as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers will be the biggest storyline of the season, eight eventful years after The Decision sent James from Cleveland the first time. It follows, then, that how far he can lead this born-ready bunch of walking buckets will be the biggest question of the season.

If you squint a certain way, you can see a Lakers team that coalesces to make some noise, maybe even progressing to the second round of the playoffs. Upstarts Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma have all given us reason to be excited about their potential, and playing with LeBron James is to taking a leap as folding in the egg whites is to making a perfect Savoy cake (I’m watching the Great British Baking Show right now).

Open your eyes (or your oven door), however, and this Savoy cake could just as easily collapse before Paul Hollywood can taste it. Along with James, the Lakers are bringing Javale McGee AND Rajon Rondo AND Lance Stephenson AND Michael Beasley into the fold. It’s honestly surreal.

To be fair, we blog boys are probably over-weighting the knucklehead factor. Rondo has value, even if he’s frustratingly choosy about showing it, and Beasley very likely will ride the bench all season long, as Kuzma is better than him at just about everything.

ESPN’s BPI projections are optimistic about their prospects, giving the squad an 88 percent chance at making the playoffs. Once there, however, the projections are much less rosy. BPI gives them a 15 percent chance at the Conference Finals, a five percent chance at the Finals and a two percent chance at the Larry O’Brien trophy. Like always, it will come down to LeBron. And like always, we’ll all be watching.