Despite the optimism surrounding the Lakers under new head coach JJ Redick, ESPN does not believe next season will be any different for them. In their latest power rankings ahead of the new season, ESPN ranked the Lakers at 13th out of 16 NBA teams that can realistically compete for a championship, giving them just a 1.5% chance to win the NBA championship, and a 4.0% chance to make the NBA Finals.
Several questionable teams are ranked ahead of the Lakers, such as the Sacramento Kings at 12th with a 1.6% chance to win, the Memphis Grizzlies at 10th with a 2.6% chance, and the Miami Heat at 9th with a 3.8% chance to win the NBA championship next season.
Clearly, ESPN does not think that the Lakers have drastically improved with the addition of JJ Redick as the new head coach. And while the Lakers played really well against the Suns with their ideal starting lineup showing signs of promise in the few minutes that they played together.
The Lakers are yet to register a win in their preseason games, losing against the Timberwolves and the Suns. But so far, they have been playing well, at least when their starters and key rotation pieces take the court. So the biggest problem for the Lakers so far is their depth.
Head coach JJ Redick will have to figure out how he will manage this perceived lack of depth, whether that be getting the best out of some of his other bench options, or communicating with the front office to try and pull off some deals that can help improve the team.
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