“Showtime is back baby!” As legendary Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn would say, “The game’s in the refrigerator, the door’s closed, the light’s out, the eggs are cooling, the butter’s getting hard and the jello’s jiggling.“
If Hearn was still alive, Staples Center would hear that phrase many of nights. Along with other Chickisms such as “Slaaaaaam Dunk!!” and “no-look pass.”
In other words, fans will be in for more treats this season after receiving a basket full of tricks in past seasons and missing the postseason for five consecutive years.
The new-look Lakers headlined by megastar LeBron James, known as King James, are projected to win 46 games, according to ESPN’s Kevin Pelton. 46 wins would be up 11 from the 2017-18 season when the Lakers finished at 35-47.
ESPN has King James favored to win MVP No. 5, while Brandon Ingram is said to take home the Most Improved Player award.
One player who is being slept on, amidst James’ arrival, is Lakers’ 21-year-old forward Ingram who has shown throughout the summer and preseason that he’s ready to take his game to new heights.
Ingram averaged about 18 points, five rebounds and two assists throughout four preseason games in limited minutes.
His preseason highs were 31 points and 10 rebounds against the Sacramento Kings on Oct. 4, as he lead the team to a 128-123 victory.
With James, the best player in the game in L.A., the Lakers now have the potential to be a championship team.
Winning 50 games would definitely give the Lakers better odds to being a contender for the NBA title.
Although racking up 50 wins in the wild wild Western Conference of the NBA will not be an easy feature, this Lakers squad will get there.
During the two times that James switched teams, each team won 11 and 20 more games, respectively. That averages to 15.5 more games won, which when added to the 35 wins that the Lakers won last season would put the team over 50 wins.
However many wins the Lakers earn, the team is destined for greatness this season.
Former Laker Mychal Thompson and Warriors’ guard Klay Thompson’s dad even made the bold statement that the Lakers and Warriors will meet 13 times this season.
He broke down the 13 meetings: “Two preseason games. Four regular season games and SEVEN in the playoffs. How about that?”
What round you may ask, he answered, “Oh, conference finals, man. You don’t bring LeBron in to get eliminated in the second round. When has that ever happened to LeBron?”
Preseason games for the Lakers wrapped up on Oct. 12 versus the Warriors. The Lakers notched a solid 119-105 win in the final game, completing back-to-back wins versus the Warriors.
The Lakeshow accumulated a preseason record of 3-3. Although, preseason record should be taken with a grain of salt because teams don’t play regular rotations. Heck even the reigning NBA champ Warriors went 1-4 and that team will probably finish with the best record in basketball after the upcoming season commences.
Regular season action for the Lakers tips off on Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in an away game against the Portland Trailblazers.
The home opener will be played on Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Staples Center versus reigning MVP James Harden and the Houston Rockets.
