Fantasy Review For 2018/19 Season:
It all started well with LeBron James and a bunch of young guns and ended badly with James down and young guns proving not being ready. But it all doesnt matter, as the young guns are now gone.
Changes in the offseason
Lost = Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Reggie Bullock, Isaac Bonga, Tyson Chandler, Josh Hart, Mike Muscala, Moritz Wagner
Added = Anthony Davis, Danny Green, Avery Bradley, Dwight Howard, (Boogie Cousins), Quinn Cook, Troy Daniels, Jared Dudley, Talen Horton Tucker, Kostas Antetokounmpo
It was a revolution and a complete change of team building idea – from internal growth to gathering stars and roles willing to play alongside them.
Projected Depth Chart:
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
| Rajon Rondo | Danny Green | LeBron James | Anthony Davis | Dwight Howard |
| Alex Caruso | Avery Bradley | KCP | Kyle Kuzma | JaVale McGee |
| Quinn Cook | Troy Daniels | Talen Horton Tucker | Jared Dudley | Kostas Antetokounmpo |
Positional Battles:PG, SG, PF, C
- Their three best players are all best used as Power Forwards
- Their point guard situation is a mess – Caruso is the best player of the crop, Rondo is LeBron’s mate, Cook might be the best fit and Avery Bradley is the best defender
- If Bradley plays as SG, he will be one of the four expecting some playing time, with 3 out of 4 (Green, Bradley and KCP) being superior defensive players with some shooting woes, and fourth (Daniels) being a great shooter but a miserable defender.
- There is not one player in the roster whose best position is a Small Forward. Literally.
- We should expect 50/50 time split between JaVale McGee, but there is going to be available 30 to 35 minutes for them, and the rest of the minutes given to the Power Forwards: Davis, Kuzma, James, even Dudley.
Fantasy Relevant in standard leagues :
In his disappointing season he averaged 27.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 8.3 assists on 51% shooting. And now, for the first time in 15 years this legendary for his work ethic player, had full 6 months to prepare for the season. Also, for the firs time in his career he plays with a perfect partner, an athletic guy in his prime, that can roll, that can pop, and that would help him defensively. All of it surrounded by reliable three point shooting. The league should be scared.
Healthy he is a fantasy god, the best 9 cat player in the history of the universe. Playing alongside LeBron James might only help him, because while setting a screen for him defenses in pick-your-poison situations will have to double James, leaving for Davis wide open shots. Also he is the kind of defender, that in the team’s messy defense situatuon would pile up even more defensive stats. The problem is in the word “healthy” because this MRI-addict freak loves to leave the game for 20 minutes now and than to take another shot of his drug, sometimes missing whole games while sitting in the machin. Still – he has something to prove this year and should be on a revenge/reminder tour this year and for me he is a dark horse in a MVP race.
Three pointers, steals and out of position blocks. Thats what he is. The problem here is that he is one of this players that tend to perform much worse after signing new contract. And he just has signed one. Still if you really need threes with defensive stats he should really be a useful pick in the later rounds.
Not-so-efficient scoring streamer and don’t let the Lakers fanbase fool you into some other narration. Last season his only positive categories were points, threes, and rebounds, and with a minute hit thats coming for him, along with playing next to better rebounders, he shouldn’t really be fantasy relevant this upcoming season.
Could be useful with trades/injuries [or in deeper leagues than 15 teams]:
Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, Alex Caruso, Quinn Cook, Dwight Howard
Just don’t bother with:
Avery Bradley, KCP, Troy Daniels, Jared Dudley
Don’t forget to check the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers fantasy basketball projections..
Posted in Teams preview