The two Los Angeles teams in the NBA have been polarizing, to say the least. The first power rankings of the season show the immense gap between the teams.
Until recently, the Lakers have been the superior LA team, but certain factors turned the tables around, and this year marks the 180 degree turn as the Clippers are ranked a lofty 4th and the Lakers at a paltry 28th.
Marc Stein of ESPN released his assessment of all NBA teams as training camp starts and the placement of the LA teams was quite a shocker.
The Clippers at the 4th spot was quite surprising. Considering that they ranked higher than OKC and Houston. Stein justified it because the Clippers addressed their main problem last season- depth.
"As much as depth issues hurt the Clips last season, does Doc really have enough PT for Paul Pierce, Josh Smith and Lance Stephenson?"
However, fans are skeptical about the three players, as shown in a comment from David Rios: "The Clippers at 4 is jaw dropping. Lance is wildly overrated, Paul Pierce is The Walkind(sic) Dead, and Josh Smith is more overrated than Lance is. At the end of the day, they're still a 2nd round exit in a best case scenario."
Perhaps Stein is still thinking of Celtics' Pierce, Pacers' Stephenson and Hawks' Smith. He might have forgotten that these players were already dumped by those teams for a reason.
The Lakers at 28th, worse than the Timberwolves, Nets, Knicks and Nuggets was also surprising. Consider the additions of the Lakers-a 2nd overall pick, Julius Randle from injury, an upgrade at center (yes, Hibbert is an upgrade from Jordan Hill) and of course, Kobe Bryant. None of those other teams have as much coming in and returning, as the Lakers.
But no, Stein focused on: "Metta World Peace mentoring Julius Randle. Nick Young and Lou Williams vying for shots on the same team as Kobe, with D'Angelo Russell likewise trying to fit and the Lakers' 2016 first-round pick headed to Philly if it falls outside the top three." One might conclude that it's not a very objective assessment.
Stein still thinks the Lakers would be tanking to keep the Sixers pick, which they managed to keep last year. The off-season efforts of the Lakers do not seem to reflect that. Also, next year's draft would not be as good as this year's as there aren't too many players worth tanking for.