The NBA is back for its 2020-2021 season and the two LA franchises are returning as two of the best in the western conference. Both believe they can claim LA, both believe they are worthy of this years championship, and one of them already has one. The Clippers and Lakers face off tomorrow, opening day of the NBA season, as the second game of the season. Both teams are running it back with familiar stars, but have also brought in some new faces.
With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George at the helm, the Clippers came into the 2019-2020 season with high expectations. Many people picked them to take the NBA title last year and with Kawhi and LeBron battling it out for the soul of LA, fans were on the edge of their seats. However, the Clippers did little other than disappoint last season. Rumors of chemistry issues spread, especially between the stars of the team and their coach, Doc Rivers. This however did not stop the Clippers from achieving regular season success and going into the playoffs as the second seed in the west, right behind the Lakers. The Clippers handled the seven seeded Mavericks and moved on to face a tough Denver Nuggets team in the second round.
With a 3-1 lead over Denver, the battle for LA seemed to be destined to come to a head in the western conference semi-finals. The Nuggets had other plans. Lead by Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets made a historic comeback and knocked the Clippers out of contention in a thrilling seven game series. The collapse forced the Clippers to make some tough decisions and everyone expected them to have a big off season.
The Clippers fired coach Doc Rivers and hired LeBron’s former coach Ty Lou. They also made some moves on draft night which sent Landry Shamet to Brooklyn and replaced him with Detroit’s Luke Kennard, who offers the Clippers some much needed perimeter shooting and just all around great shooting. The Clippers did not do much in the offseason. They opted to let sixth man Montrezl Harrell go and picked up Kawhi’s former Toronto team mate Serge Ibaka. This will be a big upgrade. Not only will Ibaka provide solid scoring and rebounding for the team, he will provide veteran leadership to the Clippers locker room. As the supposed leader of the team, Kawhi Leonard has seemed to struggle in the area of leadership. Bringing in some one like Ibaka could seriously help with locker room chemistry, which is something the Clippers definitely struggled with last year.
Even with those few moves, the Clippers offseason was far from a success. Rumors hit quickly during free agency that the Clippers were looking to acquire a star point guard. The primary targets seemed to be former Clipper Chris Paul, Russel Westbrook, and the champion guard from across the hall, Rajon Rondo. Obviously things did not go the Clippers way as all three of those players have found new homes outside of LA. What many expected to be a busy offseason for the Clippers turned out to be a couple of small victories with several missed opportunities.
The Lakers, however, were the complete opposite of their LA counterparts. They finish last season as the number one seed and cruised to the NBA finals were they beat the Cinderella Miami Heat to win it all. After winning a championship, most teams would run it back the next season, believing that they would be good enough to make another run the following year. But the Lakers didn’t do that. Not only did they make some big moves, they some how got better.
The Lakers actually lost several key players. Dwight Howard, who rebuilt his reputation with the Lakers and provided a spark off the bench, now finds himself with the 76ers. Rondo, who was a key facilitator for the Lake Show, is now with the Hawk in Atlanta. Danny Green, Avery Bradley, and Javale McGee, all of which were excellent key players for the Lakers, have all found new homes in the NBA. At first it seems like a very bad offseason for the Lakers. They lost five players who were vital to the 2019-2020 championship season. It looks pretty bad, until you look at who they acquired.
The biggest signing the Lakers made was not necessarily great because of the player but because of the meaning behind it. As mentioned above, the Clippers did not make Montrezl Harrell a focus in the offseason, allowing him to leave. He signed with the Lakers. While Harrell is a great player and a fantastic sixth man, the Lakers taking away a key player for the Clippers is a big power move in the battle for LA. Harrell will provide strong minutes for the Lakers off the bench and is a blow to the confidence of the rival Clippers.
The Lakers also replace Rajon Rondo with a player who has been called a younger version of Rondo in Dennis Schroder. While Schroder doesn’t bring the veteran presence that Rondo did, Schroder gives the Lakers a younger and more skilled player at the guard position. Markieff Morris also resigned with the Lakers. Morris played in every game during the Lakers championship playoff run and proved himself as a valuable asset to the Lakers team. The Lakers also resigned Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who had one of the best seasons of his career last year. KCP was extremely valuable on offense and shot 38.5% from three-point range.
Even with all of the signings, the Lakers needed more. They lost two centers in Dwight Howard and Javale McGee, leaving the team with out much depth at the center position. They fixed that by signing Toronto center Marc Gasol. Gasol will give the Lakers a big rebounding presence inside and will also be able to spread the floor with his three-point shooting. Last year Gasol shot 38.5 percent from three and averaged 6.3 rebounds.
With LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading a team that is even better than last years championship team, it is hard to imagine anyone in the west stopping their return to the finals. The Lakers seem to be far better than their LA rivals. While the Clippers were active in the offseason, the pieces that they brought in make them only slightly better than before. The Clippers main issue is their chemistry. With a new coach and new players entering the rotation, this will be their biggest challenge off the court. The odds seem to be in favor of the LA Lakers.
The Battle for LA will continue tomorrow, December 22. The two teams will face off on TNT at 9:00 pm following the Nets season opener against the Warriors.
The Contender 