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Does Carmelo Anthony Increase The Lakers 2022 Title Hopes? | Sports Takes & News | TooAthletic.com
The pairing that has been talked about for two decades was made official this past week as Carmelo Anthony joined the Los Angeles Lakers, thus joining forces with his high school friend LeBron James eighteen years after the duo joined the NBA. While the Purple and Gold seem to be collecting players over 35-years-old this offseason, Anthony continued to carry the narrative put forth by the Lakers’ roster, “Talk to us in June 2022.” The only question is, does Carmelo Anthony increase the Los Angeles Lakers title hopes for the upcoming season?
The Los Angeles Lakers are playing the “experience” card now that their roster is made up of players named LeBron James (36), Carmelo Anthony (37), Marc Gasol (36), Trevor Ariza (36) and Dwight Howard (soon-to-be 36). True they still have 28-year-old Anthony Davis and a “younger” All-Star in 33-year-old Russell Westbrook; but it is clear the Lakers are looking to win as many titles as they can during the LeBron James era and are not looking to build around Davis, who could be with the team for five to seven more seasons. This “win-now” attitude is forcing the Lakers to sign cheaper, veteran players who don’t need to pay for money, but are looking to cement their legacy by adding a ring to their mantle. This plan only works one way, because if it proves to come up short early in the 2021-22 season, there is no Plan B since the players they have acquired are not going to be worth much on the trade market and if the roster suffers too many injuries, it will be another meaningless season for the Lakers during the LeBron James era.
It is difficult to say that any player who is 3-13 in postseason series is a solid addition to any team, but Carmelo Anthony, who brings that record to LA with him, is not going to be expected to carry the Lakers to the NBA title, only play a contributing role along with all the other veterans. Considering their age, it will need to be a team effort for the Lakers to compete in the Western Conference, and this season the team is learning from their mistake of last season when injuries to Davis and James saw them fall from second to seventh in the standings while suffering a first-round playoff exit. With this likely being their only option after selling out to trade for Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers are going to experience and hope enough players stay healthy.
Carmelo Anthony proved useful during his time in Portland and will likely make a few highlights in Purple and Gold this season. While clearly not being the difference maker that allowed him to reach the Top Ten on the NBA’s All-Time Scoring list, he now understands what his role will be going forward, making his experience more valuable since it is free of the ego he once carried with him onto the court. Anthony adds something to a roster of aging all-stars that will likely split up every game into two sets of 24 minutes rather than a 48-minutes marathon none of them can handle anymore. As a result, Anthony and all the other 35+ players have a chance to make it work during the regular season … but what happens after 82-games when teams can focus on them in a seven-game playoff series remains to be seen. Sadly, it will be in April or May where this plan will fall apart, but between now and then, hopes will rise in LA, even if they only last until the playoffs.
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Does Carmelo Anthony Increase The Lakers 2022 Title Hopes? | TooAthletic.com
The post Does Carmelo Anthony Increase The Lakers 2022 Title Hopes? appeared first on TOOATHLETIC TAKES.
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By: Rafael Thomas
Title: Does Carmelo Anthony Increase The Lakers 2022 Title Hopes?
Sourced From: tooathletic.com/does-carmelo-anthony-increase-the-lakers-2022-title-hopes/
Published Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2021 03:47:52 +0000
