校對：Lincoln&FangSir
轉自：湖人國度
湖人隊在休賽期完成的引援在聯盟中飽受爭議。儘管質疑之聲久經不絕，但他們仍可能在下賽季出人意料地成為冠軍的有力爭奪者。
今年湖人的休賽期是近幾年中最有趣的。他們的舉動既具有里程碑式的意義，而又具有爭議性，正是這樣，他們收到的評論譭譽參半。
湖人聚集了這樣獨特的隊伍，他們在NBA推特上被稱為“造梗小隊”和“自殺小隊”。有了像“指揮官”隆多、“師弟”斯蒂芬森、“冠軍中鋒”麥基和“CBA名宿”比斯利這樣性格各異的球員，我們很容易理解為什麼他們在一起會產生一些問題。
儘管不受大多數人的待見，這支湖人新軍仍能輕鬆贏得很多比賽，並且讓聯盟中的一些球隊感到驚訝。
他們不僅增加了一群可靠而堅韌的老將，他們還將聯盟第一人——詹姆斯招致麾下，任何擁有詹姆斯的球隊都不容小覷。湖人的年輕核心也被低估了，如果他們繼續以現在的速度成長，他們的表現一定會讓人震驚。
一些分析家預測這班性格各異的人組成的湖人將會錯過季後賽。然而，這支隊伍如果表現得比大部分人期待的好，在西部將非常容易進入前四的位置。
有一種常見的論點是，湖人隊的陣容甚至不如上賽季的騎士隊好。然而，在季後賽中JR的上場時間僅次於詹姆斯，而湖人在休賽期引進的球員中，也有超過5人的表現比他好。
湖人新成員之一比斯利說得最在理，他在採訪中打消了“湖人將有一個問題不斷的更衣室”這一觀念。
“對我來說，我能在這裡，甚至讓我代表這些擁有不同性格的隊友們發聲，都證明我有足夠的理智，我可不想讓更衣室出亂子。”比斯利說，“作為一個評論員，你只是在做你的工作，如果每個人都做好自己的本職工作和停止評判一些球員，尤其是我，你會發現像我、尼克·楊、JR和斯蒂芬森這樣的人其實知道如何打籃球，如何贏得籃球比賽，以及知道如何與他人相處。”
只有時間才能告訴我們這支球隊是否能夠在一起創造出足夠的化學反應，從而成為冠軍的有力競爭者。但如果他們被低估了，這可能給他們帶來一種與世界抗爭的精神。湖人隊下個賽季震撼聯盟的原因有很多，以下總結為五個最佳的原因。
5．他們上賽季與西部頂級球隊的比賽中表現出色
湖人上個賽季只贏了35場比賽，但是他們在與聯盟的強隊比賽中有驚人的表現，特別是勇士和火箭。這兩支球隊顯然是下賽季的前兩名冠軍競爭者，事實上湖人已經在對陣他們的比賽中取得了一些成功，這是一個非常積極的信號。
也許湖人本賽季最佳的勝利是在12月20日，他們擊敗了火箭，從而結束了他們的連勝。火箭隊是聯盟中戰績最好的球隊，湖人以122比116擊敗了他們。當兩隊再次交鋒時，湖人把他們拖進了雙加時，最終只輸了6分，也證明了他們的第一場勝利並非僥倖。
在勇士隊的比賽中，他們每次碰面都輸掉了比賽，但在四場比賽中，他們在兩場比賽中都把他們逼到了加時賽。在兩年前，他們甚至連續擊敗了衛冕冠軍勇士隊。
湖人的成功可能歸結於勇士來到洛杉磯過度放鬆或者湖人主教練沃頓對這支勇士非常熟悉。但事實上，他們去年的每一場比賽都很接近，這提示湖人隊能與聯盟中最好的球隊對陣，甚至在他們開展簽約自由球員之前。
湖人在面對這些強隊時最缺乏的是，缺乏有一個球星在關鍵時刻站出來。隨著詹姆斯的加入，他們應該有更好的機會去擊敗那些球隊，因為上賽季他在季後賽關鍵時刻的表現，足以展現出他是頂級的關鍵先生之一，儘管他在職業生涯的早期曾有過掙扎。
湖人上個賽季可能是一支倒數級別的球隊，但是他們在對陣頂級球隊時確實有過非常出色的表現。勇士和火箭肯定會是湖人需要擊敗的兩支球隊，以達到他們的最終目標，我們可以期待的是，他們的成功完全是有跡可循的。現在有了全新的陣容，他們有了更好的幫助，以對抗更頂尖的球隊。
4．他們在自由市場中引進了湖人有史以來最偉大的球員之一
每當一支球隊加入聯盟中最好的球員時，他們就會立即被納入奪冠熱門隊列之中，因為NBA是一個球星驅動的聯盟。特別是當這位球星是詹姆斯時，他連續進入了8次總決賽，即使是在較弱的東部，這是一項幾乎不可思議的壯舉。
儘管上個賽季是他在NBA的第15個賽季，但仍然是他職業生涯中數據最好的賽季之一。他8.6個籃板和9.1個助攻均創下職業生涯新高。詹姆斯也證明了他可以在季後賽中帶領球隊，在騎士隊奪取東部冠軍的路上，他做了幾乎所有的事情。
在過去詹姆斯兩次換隊中，他加盟的球隊在常規賽中都大幅地增加了勝場次數，同時第一個賽季就帶領球隊進入總決賽。
在2010-11賽季，他備受爭議地轉會至熱火後，他們的勝場相較上賽季增加了11場，在東部賽區他們的排名從第五升到第二。在2013-15賽季，騎士隊增加了驚人的20個勝場，他們從一個樂透球隊變成了東部第二好的球隊。
詹姆斯這一次想讓他的球隊進入總決賽將會有更多的困難，但他可能會使上賽季常規賽勝場增加接近15場。這將使湖人獲得50場勝利，在上賽季西部，他們就是3號種子了。如果湖人在能夠下個賽季完成這一壯舉，他們將會讓聯盟中的大部分人感到驚訝。
其他湖人隊的自由球員簽約也不應該被忽視。隆多
和麥基都參加過多次總決賽，同時會為球隊增加經驗豐富的領導力。史蒂芬森和比斯利也帶來比賽經驗和一定的韌性，這是上賽季球隊所缺少的。史蒂芬森和比斯利也將增加上賽季球隊缺少的經驗和韌性。
3．選秀一如既往的優秀
現在還為時尚早，但是在看到湖人在夏季聯賽的選秀後，他們看起來已經完成了下一場選秀。在第一輪和第二輪的末段，選秀一直是湖人隊過去幾個賽季的專長，今年也是如此。
湖人隊第一需要的是中鋒位置，他們至少在首輪中找到了一名合適的輪換球員。湖人選擇了第25順位新秀莫里茨·瓦格納，看起來湖人又一次在首輪末端淘到寶了，他在第一年就能為湖人立即做出貢獻。
他在大學打了三年的比賽，有豐富的經驗，他在大三賽季進入了首發陣容，帶領密歇根隊一路挺進全國冠軍聯賽。他的身高略低於中鋒的平均身高，但在夏季聯賽中，他看起來很積極，而且防守的中鋒個子比他大。看起來湖人將依靠他成為他們的大個子球員，因為他們沒有在自由球員市場重新籤回布魯克·洛佩茲。
他們在NBA選秀中還有另外兩個選擇，但是都在第二輪。在第39順位時，就選了艾賽克·邦加。在第47順位，他們選擇了斯維亞託斯拉夫·米哈伊魯克。
具有諷刺意味的是，他們最後選擇的米哈伊魯克，是湖人隊在拉斯維加斯錦標賽上最具NBA實力的球員，併入選獲得了夏季聯賽最佳第二陣容。
米哈伊魯克在進攻端表現很好，三分的命中率非常高，而且他的控球和組織能力也比預期的要好。由於湖人的花名冊上沒有射手，他很容易就能在下個賽季打入輪換陣容。
有了能夠積極貢獻的新秀，會使湖人將成為聯盟中最有深度陣容的球隊之一。
2．他們會有更好的防守
上個賽季湖人的主要目標之一就是補強防守，而他們做到了。在2016-17賽季，湖人隊作為聯盟防守最差的球隊之一，讓對手在場上的投籃命中率超過48%。在2017-18賽季，他們在這方面有所改善，並且讓他們的對手只有45%的命中率，這足以讓他們在聯盟中取得第十的防守效率。
他們在休賽期簽下了新球員，並保留了他們最好的側翼後衛波普，下賽季他們的防守會更好。
除了比斯利，他們所有加入的自由球員都是善於防守的球員，並能夠在球場上防守多個位置。湖人的防守需要大量的轉換到不同位置，而他們加入的球員，如隆多和斯蒂芬森將會很好地適應這種防守理念。
一個可以完成換防的先發陣容將會是以詹姆斯為中鋒的小球陣容。他們對抗勇士的死亡五小名單將包括鮑爾、哈特、英格拉姆、庫茲瑪和詹姆斯，這些球員身高都在6尺5寸以上，並且都是高大的後衛。
他們可能比較掙扎的是詹姆斯在油漆區的內線防守，但他們能夠很好地與以外線為主的頂級球隊相抗衡。
1．年輕的核心已經做好了下一階段的準備
那些說這支球隊會錯過季後賽的人都大大低估了湖人目前所擁有的優秀年輕球員。
在上個賽季，當他們的整個球隊都很健康的時候，他們看起來已經很接近季後賽了。即使上個賽季英格拉姆和球哥都缺陣了超過20場，湖人仍然贏得了35場比賽，並將總勝場數提高了9場。
他們年輕的核心球員是成績進步的最大原因。他們失去了朱利葉斯·蘭德爾，他可以說是上賽季最優秀的年輕球員，但是他們保留了英格拉姆，鮑爾，庫茲瑪和哈特，他們所有看起來都是未來的湖人球星。
庫茲瑪上個賽季表現得最好，創造了一些湖人隊史上新秀最好的得分數據。他是湖人的頭號得分手，場均16.1分，併入選了新秀第一陣容。
但鮑爾和英格拉姆的成長空間最大，而且可以說他們的上限比他高，因為他們更年輕。他們現在都只有20歲，在他們短暫的NBA生涯中已經展現出了耀眼的光芒。
如果他們都能提高三分命中率，他們就有潛力在自己的位置上成長為全明星常客。這兩名球員應該會從勒布朗和其他老將身上學到最多的東西，這可能使到聯盟的其他人感到畏懼。
哈特上個賽季也打得很好，甚至在常規賽末打進了首發陣容。
儘管他取得了成功，他還是決定參加今年的夏季聯賽，並主導了夏季聯賽的賽場，也贏得了夏季聯賽的MVP，帶領湖人進入了總冠軍爭奪戰。如果他能在今年的常規賽中獲得動力，那麼下個賽季他將會是湖人在替補席可用的強力武器，甚至有可能進入球隊的首發。
詹姆斯已經習慣了和一群經驗豐富的老將打球，但是和湖人年輕核心一起打球對他來說是個不錯的改變。這肯定會給他注入前所未有的能量，而他也會反作用於這幫年輕人們，幫助他們在精神上和身體上提高。
這些嶄露頭角的年輕球星聯合詹姆斯以及造梗小隊的其他成員，要麼可能會達不到預期效果，，要麼則可能一鳴驚人，爭奪下個賽季的總冠軍。佩林卡和魔術師尋求建立一支平衡於經驗老將及自家青年軍的球隊，而在完成這個方面的任務，他們著實幹得不錯。
原文:
Los Angeles Lakers: 5 reasons why they will surprise the league
The way the Los Angeles Lakers have built their roster this offseason has been questioned around the league. Despite that lingering doubt, they could end up being surprise contenders next season.
Cameron Salce
This Los Angeles Lakers offseason has been one of the most interesting in recent memory. Their moves have been both monumental and controversial, and they have been both praised and mocked because of them.
The Lakers have brought together such a unique group, that they have even been dubbed the “Meme Team” and the “Suicide Squad” on NBA Twitter. With a collection of personalities like Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley it is easy to see why there are some question marks about how they will perform together.
However, amidst all the hate, this new group of Lakers could easily win a bunch of games, and surprise some teams around the league next season.
Not only did they add a solid group of tough veterans, they also added arguably the best player in the game LeBron James and any team with him on the roster should not be taken lightly. The young core the Lakers kept on the roster is also being underrated, and if they continue to grow at the pace they are on, they will definitely shock people with their play.
Some analysts are projecting that the Lakers will miss the playoffs altogether with this ragtag group of misfits. However, this team could easily finish in the top four teams in the Western Conference if they get better than most people expect them too.
One common argument is that this Lakers roster is not even better the one that the Cavaliers had last season, that struggled at times. However, J.R. Smith played the next most minutes next to LeBron in the postseason and the Lakers arguably have more than five players that are better than him on their roster after their offseason acquisitions.
One of their new additions, Michael Beasley said it best when he brushed off the notion that the Lakers would be a tumultuous locker room.
“For there to even be a narrative of the personalities in this room is judgment enough for me, and I don’t want to be a part of that,” Beasley said. ”You being a critic doing your job, if everybody do their job and stop judging a lot of players — me mainly — you will figure out that guys like me, Nick Young, JR Smith and Lance Stephenson and guys like that know how to play basketball and win basketball games, know how to get along with others.”
Only time will tell if this team can build enough chemistry together to be a contender. But if they are being underrated, that could give them one way to bond, with an us against the world mentality. There are plenty of solid reasons why the Lakers will surprise the league next season, but this list narrows it down to the top five best ones.
5.They competed well against the top Western Conference teams last season
The Lakers only won 35 games last season, but they played surprisingly well against the teams that dominated the league, specifically the Warriors and Rockets. Those two teams are obviously the top two contenders going into next season, so the fact that the Lakers already had some mild success against them is a very positive sign.
Perhaps the best victory of the Lakers season came on December 20th when they defeated the Rockets breaking their long win streak. The Rockets were the team with the best record in the league, and the Lakers shocked them, beating them in Houston 122 to 116. The next time the two teams faced one another the Lakers pushed them to double overtime and only lost by six points, proving their first victory was no fluke.
Against the Warriors, they lost every time they met, but they pushed them to overtime in two out of the four games. The year before last season, they even pulled off an upset over the defending champs.
Their success could be explained by the Warriors relaxing when they come to Los Angeles or head coach Luke Walton‘s extreme familiarity with the team. But the fact that each game they played was close last year could suggest that the Lakers match up well with the best team in the league, even before all their free agency spending.
The one thing the Lakers lacked when they faced these teams was a star closer to get them a bucket in crunch time when they needed it most. Now with the addition of LeBron James, they should be in a much better position to beat those teams because he showed in the playoffs last season he is one of the best clutch players in the game right now, despite his struggles earlier in his career.
The Lakers might have been a bottom feeding team last season, but they did have some of their best games against the top tier teams in the league. The Warriors and Rockets will for sure be the two teams the Lakers will need to beat to get to their ultimate goal, so hopefully, their success was not just an apparition. Now with a revamped roster, they have the help they need to be even better against that top competition.
4.They added one of the best players of all-time in free agency
Anytime a team adds the best player in the league, they instantly get thrust into the championship conversation, because the NBA is a star-driven league. Especially when that star is LeBron James, he has been to the last 8 finals and even in a weak Eastern Conference that is a feat that is almost incomprehensible.
Even though last season was his 15th season in the league, he still put up one of the best statistical seasons of his career. He set career highs in rebounds with 8.6 and assists with 9.1. James also proved that he can carry his team in the playoffs as well, doing pretty much everything for the Cavs on their way to the Eastern Conference crown.
Both times LeBron switched teams in the past, the team that he joined enjoyed a substantial increase in regular season victories, and went to the NBA finals his first season with the team.
In the 2010-11 season following his controversial move to the Miami Heat, their win total increased by 11 games and they went from 5th to 2nd in the Eastern Conference. In 2013-15 the Cleveland Cavaliers record improved by a whopping 20 wins and they went from a lottery team to the 2nd best team in the East.
James will have a much more difficult time willing his team to the finals this time around, but he could add close to 15 wins to the regular season record from last season. That would put the Lakers at 50 wins, and that would have made them the three seed in the west last season. If the Lakers accomplished that feat next season, they will have surprised a good portion of the league already.
The other Lakers free agent signings should not be slept on as well. Both Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee have played in multiple finals and will add veteran leadership. Stephenson and Beasley will also add experience and a certain toughness that this team was missing last season.
3.They drafted well again
It is still very early to tell, but after seeing the Lakers draft picks in Summer League, it looks like they nailed another draft with what they had to work with. Drafting at the end of round one and in the second round has been the Lakers specialty the past couple of seasons and this year was no different.
The Lakers number one need based on position was center, and they seemed to have found at least a rotational piece with their first-round draft choice. The Lakers chose Moritz Wagner with the 25th pick and he looks like he can be a steal and step in and contribute right away for the Lakers in year one.
He has solid experience playing three years in college and developed into a star his junior season carrying Michigan all the way to the national title game. He is slightly below average size for a center, but during summer league he looked active on the glass and was defending centers that were bigger than him. It looks like the Lakers are going to rely on him to be their stretch big man because they elected to not re-sign Brook Lopez in free agency.
They had two other selections in the NBA draft as well, but they both were in the second round. With the 39th pick, they took Isaac Bonga. With the 47th pick, they selected Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk.
Ironically their later pick Mykhailuk was the one that looked the most NBA ready in the Las Vegas tournament for the Lakers and he took home second-team All-Summer League honors because of it.
Mykhailuk looked very good on the offensive end, shooting threes at a spectacular percentage and also showed better ball handling and playmaking ability than was expected. Since the Lakers roster lacks shooters, he could easily find himself breaking into the lineup next season.
Having rookies that can come in and contribute positively, will allow the Lakers to have one of the deepest rotations in the league.
2.They will have an improved defense
One of the Lakers’ main goals last season was to improve on the defensive side of the ball and they accomplished it. In the 2016-17 season, the Lakers finished as one of the worst teams in the league defensively, letting opponents shoot over 48 percent from the field. In 2017-18 they improved that percentage a ton, and let their opponents shoot only 45 percent, which was good enough to finish 10th best in the league in that category.
With their new pieces they signed in the offseason, and retaining their best wing defender Kentavious Caldwell-Pope they can be even better on defense next season.
Besides Beasley, all of their free agent acquisitions are plus defenders and can defend multiple spots on the court. The Lakers defense involves a ton of switching on to players of different positions, and the guys they added like Rondo and Stephenson will fit well with that defensive philosophy.
One lineup that could accomplish the switch everything defense would be a small ball line up that features LeBron at the center position. Their version of the Warriors line up of death would include Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, and James, players that are all over 6’5″ and are long defenders.
They might struggle defending teams on the interior with LeBron guarding the paint, but they could match up really well with the top teams that are primarily perimeter oriented.
1.The young core is ready to take the next step
People that are saying that this team will miss the playoffs are vastly underrating the great young players that already Lakers had on the roster.
When their entire team was healthy last season, they already looked close to being a playoff team. Even with Ingram and Ball missing more than 20 games each last season the Lakers still managed to win 35 games and improve their win total by nine games.
Their young core was the biggest reason why their record was much improved. They lost Julius Randle, who was arguably the best young player from last season, but they held on to Ingram, Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart who all look like they can be future Laker stars.
Kuzma played the best of the bunch last season, putting up some of the best scoring numbers for a rookie in Lakers history. He was the Lakers leading scorer, averaging 16.1 points a game and made the All-Rookie First team.
But Ball and Ingram have the most room to grow and arguably have higher ceilings than he does because they are younger. They both are currently only 20 years old and they have already shown flashes of brilliance in their short NBA careers.
If they both can improve their 3-point shooting, they have the potential to develop into perennial All-Stars at their positions. These two guys should benefit the most learning from LeBron and the rest of the veterans, so that could be scary for the rest of the league.
Josh Hart also played well last season and even broke into the starting lineup at the end of the year.
Despite his success, he decided to take on the challenge of playing in this year’s Summer League and he dominated, winning the MVP of the tournament and carrying the Lakers to the championship game. If he can take momentum into this year’s regular season, then he will be a great weapon for the Lakers to utilize off the bench next season and could even push to start.
James is used to playing with a group of proven veterans, but playing alongside the Lakers young core could be a nice change up for him. It will certainly give him a jolt of energy and he will, in turn, help all of them improve their game both mentally and physically.
These budding young stars combined with LeBron James and the rest of the Meme Team could fall flat or their faces or they could also shock the league and compete for a title next season. Rob Pelinka and Magic sought out to build this team with a balance of experienced veterans to go along with their homegrown youth, and they did a decent job of accomplishing that.
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