Quote Originally Posted by Troublemaker View Post


Any particular reason? They're a very well run organization that I'm betting will have the chemistry issues solved. And Kawhi and George are not old enough (29 and 30, respectively) to have major age-related regression.

Frankly, one of the reasons I'm not in love with my Lakers title pick is that Lebron turns 36 in about a week. I mean, his body should be studied by science, and I think he'll be fine. Still, one of these years, inevitably...

The Ringer had an article analyzing four contenders based on their Pythagorean records: https://www.theringer.com/2020/12/21...s-suns-nuggets

The Clippers were not one of the four teams, but from the charts you can see they slightly under performed their expected record. The Lakers on the other hand were one of the largest over performers. This analysis would suggest that the Lakers are more likely to regress at least in terms of regular season record. A counter argument would be that the Lakers added better personnel around LeBron and AD while the Clippers lost talent on net.

I am not sure how to think about chemistry issues; last year was the first season for the superstar pairing on each team. You could wonder whether adding more established players could disrupt the Laker's chemistry. Alternatively, you could look at the Clippers and believe that some of the same chemistry problems are still there.

Just trying to support the return to NBA discussion. I personally will root for the unlikely outcome of the Pelicans beating the Trailblazers in the West and beating the Celtics in the finals (My NBA rooting interest is directly tied to the presence of the Brotherhood on the roster!)