Lakers hit with bluntly harsh play-in prediction

In the offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers haven't really shaken up their roster. They did replace Darvin Ham with JJ Redick after whiffing on Dan Hurley, and they drafted Bronny James and Dalton Knecht. However, their roster is almost exactly the same as last season's team that lost in the first round to the Denver Nuggets, in five games, still led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis. This lack of roster changes convinced Brian Windhorst of ESPN to make a harsh prediction on the Lakers.

“I actually think the Lakers are relatively easy to predict, I think they're probably headed for the play-in… They've got roughly the same team coming back,” the NBA analyst said on NBA on ESPN, seen on this clip shared on X, formerly Twitter.

Will the Lakers make a splash next season?

It's never a good idea to count out LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who are still one of the top duos in the NBA on both sides of the ball. Two playoffs ago, AD practically shut down the paint while Bron cleverly used his strength to bump people off their spots and drive to the paint with ease.

However, Brian Windhorst's prediction on ESPN also probably considers the rest of the Lakers. While Bronny showed flashes as a defensive guard, per JJ Redick, he's a long way from seeing meaningful postseason minutes.

Meanwhile, Knecht can score the ball, but he will need to show he can play defense, too.

D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves can put up a ton of points, but they also give up roughly the same amount. Moreover, they're slow and undersized, meaning some teams with dynamic guards can beat them off the bounce or switch them onto taller players.

For instance, Michael Porter Jr. torched the Lakers last season because he just kept shooting over Reaves coming off switches and pick and pops. Meanwhile, D'Lo's feet were too slow to chase Jamal Murray on the perimeter.

Additionally, AD has problems defending taller and stronger teams, like the Nuggets and the Wolves. Likewise, Bron has slowed down enough that he can't easily beat defenders like Jaden McDaniels off the dribble anymore.

Meanwhile, the Wolves traded away Karl-Anthony Towns, making them a bit easier to guard, since no other big on that team can draw AD out of the paint with reliable outside shooting.

New approach

While Windhorst's play-in prediction might not be too off-base, the Lakers' more serious approach to the season under Redick could help them erase some of the terrible habits, like too much free-styling on offense, that kept them from reaching their full potential.

After all, this is the same team that went to the Western Conference Finals two seasons ago while winning the first NBA Cup last season.