The Los Angeles Lakers ranked 24th in offensive efficiency last season, scoring just 103.4 points per 100 possessions. They were even worse on the other end of the floor, where they gave up a league-worst 110.6 points per 100 possessions, which also ranked as the worst mark in franchise history.
The Lakers are a different team now, adding veterans like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Brook Lopez while also banking on another year of growth from their young core as they look to improve their marks on both ends of the floor this year.
Despite all of the team’s roster turnover, however, it would be unfair to expect that type of ineptitude to turn into champinship-level basketball immediately. Corey Brewer doesn’t agree however, as he has high expectations for the Lakers performance this season via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Corey Brewer has high expectations for this Lakers team: "We should be a top 5 offensive team and a top 10 defensive team.”
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) October 11, 2017
Professional athletes are a confident bunch, and the preseason is a time of year when optimism runs unchecked, both of which probably are playing into Brewer’s statement here.
Typically championship-caliber teams play at a top-10 level on both ends of the floor, and for the Lakers to make a leap from where they were last season to that type of basketball would be basically unprecedented in NBA history. Only major roster upgrades like LeBron James returning to the Cavaliers or the Celtics adding Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have led to teams making that level of leap.
The Lakers hope Lonzo Ball can be a franchise-changing superstar like that at some point, but he’s almost certainly not there yet. Brewer’s confidence speaks to a growing culture of pride in the team taking place in the Lakes’ locker room. However, it’s probably best for fans to wait for the Lakers to prove they can play that level of basketball before getting their hopes up Brewer can speak it into existence.
