Brian Windhorst and unnamed NBA executives are all in agreement on something: The LA Clippers are deeper than the Lakers heading into the season.
Alright. Let’s do this one last time. My name is Miles…
Okay, we aren’t doing the Spider-Man introduction a la Into the Spiderverse, but we are retreading some ground that was touched upon last week and honestly will come up several times this season. The LA Clippers are deeper than the Los Angeles Lakers.
Last week, I wrote in detail why the Clippers have the deeper roster as currently constructed. If you haven’t read that, please take the time to.
Yesterday, Brian Windhorst (along with Jackie MacMullan) joined ESPN’s The Jump to talk about this very subject. Their thoughts? See for yourself.
Windhorst notes that players like Landry Shamet and JaMychal Green are often overlooked when discussing the Clips’ depth and while he “won’t rank the Clippers way ahead in title odds” he thinks the Clippers are a better team. While it’s not as prominent now, it’s worth noting that Windhorst’s career is very closely linked with LeBron’s.
Jackie MacMullan, a sports journalism legend, agreed with him. She cited the Clippers defense and how Kawhi Leonard can be plugged into pretty much any lineup and fit.
According to an article by Ethan Strauss of The Athletic, multiple NBA executives share this sentiment.
"“In league circles, Lakers skepticism has burbled about for some time, before and after Anthony Davis awkwardly made his way to Los Angeles. Questions of fit and chemistry persist, and many are noting just how many games LeBron James has played up to this point. Like the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers are also lacking in perimeter defense, in a league where it seems to matter more than ever. Much as you would expect some ‘It’s LeBron’ faith, that faith appears to be wavering after the last disastrous season. Even flanked with Davis, no one I spoke with believes LeBron and the Lakers are better than the upstart Clips."
It’s interesting to see this sentiment. Many casual fans will point to Vegas having the Lakers as the title favorite, but they must remember that those odds are set based on the number of bets the expect to come in, not the actual best team necessarily. NBA execs have to see the value in having multiple players in each position that can step up and perform.
With the Lakers and Clippers set to square off on opening night, Christmas Day and two other times during the season, this topic will come up again and again. It’s all talk now, so we will just have to wait and see if the Clippers can prove it on the court.