3 things LA Lakers must do to compete for the NBA Championship next season
To give them due credit, the LA Lakers were NBA Championship contenders before their humbling first-round playoff defeat. Every analyst and fan was confident in the men in purple and gold. In his interview with Fubo Sports, Gilbert Arenas claimed that without any injuries, the LA Lakers would be seed number one in the Western Conference. Their early exit from the NBA Championship was shocking, to say the least.
The Lakers seemingly had everything on their roster. From living legend LeBron James to Anthony Davis, the team's defense was one of the best the league had witnessed and a good defense was the first step to winning. However, this NBA Championship proved that even if you have the greatest defense in the world, winning without supporting scorers is impossible.
LA Lakers must change the way they approach NBA Championship
The current team relied on their two stars more than any team should because, simply put, basketball is a team game. Players like Schroder and Kyle Kuzma could not handle the Phoenix Suns' playoff hunger and performed unsatisfactorily.
While Dennis Schroder, one of the main scorers and point guard for the LA Lakers, averaged only 14.3 points and 2.8 assists in his six postseason games, Kyle Kuzma averaged a mere 6.3 points in the same number of games.
To become an NBA Championship winning and defending team, the LA Lakers need to immediately make the changes mentioned ahead.
#1 Acquire a reliable sixth man
The 17 NBA Championship winning team needs to find a good sixth man and they need to do it now. The team suffered majorly through last season when LeBron and AD were not on the court.
The supporting cast, with such dominating players on the roaster, performed below expectations. To take the pressure off the team's stars, GM Rob Pelinka has to start looking into bringing in a player with Jordan Clarkson and Lou Williams level of potential and will to score.
By trading the likes of Kyle Kuzma for more reliable off-the-bench scorers, Pelinka can increase his team's overall scoring ability. The two players that would fit perfectly into the LA Lakers roster as the sixth man are Tim Hardaway Jr. and Joe Ingles. Both of these players have had exceptional past few years, with Ingles becoming the leading three-point scorer for the Utah Jazz.