Can the Lakers Continue Their Success?

Author: Raul Martinez

Editor: Brian Symons

As the second half of the NBA seasons tip-off, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to at least stay top five in the west. With new injuries appearing and the trade deadline nearing, the priority of the defending champions right now is to be ready for the playoffs.

With Anthony Davis being out an extra four weeks due to a calf strain, all the load was on LeBron James. James has been having an MVP season by averaging 25.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 7.9 APG. However, on Saturday during the second quarter against the Atlanta Hawks, LeBron went down after trying to keep the ball. He was reported to have a high ankle sprain and is expected to miss seven weeks. While many see this as a downfall for the Lakers, others may see it as a blessing in disguise. Both Davis and James will have all the time to rest and recover until the playoffs. Essentially this means they'll be one hundred percent and be able to play their best basketball.

That being said, the Lakers will most likely fall in the standings. There is a chance that they could find themselves falling sixth or even eighth in the west as other teams will surpass them. Role players such as Dennis Schröder, Montrezl Harrell, and Kyle Kuzma will have to step up during this time. There's a great chance that the Lakers will make the playoffs though if worse comes to shove, they will have Anthony Davis and LeBron James ready for the play-in tournament. According to ESPN's strength of schedule metric, the Lakers have the third easiest first set of games, meaning they should be able to win at least half if not more of those games.

While the NBA schedule is nearing towards the end, the trade deadline has come and gone. The Lakers are in desperate need of a center as starting big man Marc Gasol has been a huge upset. Gasol averaging 4.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 2 APG has been not so impactful for the Lakers. Well, they found their answer, as they have signed Andre Drummond, who is averaging 13.5 RPG and 17.5 PPG. Drummond also creates a strong presence in the paints, as it will be difficult for opponents to pass him.

Overall, the Lakers seem to be in a rather comfortable position despite not having James or Davis. With a trade deadline nearing, the Lakers hope to add the key piece to their back-to-back championships. Expect to see role players step up and advance the Lakers to their sixtieth playoff appearance.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

NBA Post All Star Break: What to Expect

Author: Zachary Patlin

Editor: Fran Attie

As we begin the second half of the 2021 NBA season, many storylines dominate the rest of the schedule. One such storyline is injuries. With injuries to both Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis, the two conferences might be completely up for grabs. It is the Jazz that have the best record in the West and the Nets that have the best record in the East, but everyone expects the Lakers and the 76ers to give those teams a run for their money come playoff time.

Another story to watch out for is the emergence of the Suns. Booker and CP3 have been a SCARY backcourt, maybe one of the scariest in all of the NBA, just behind Brooklyn’s Harden and Irving. Can the Suns continue their dominance and be a power in the West? Time will tell, as the Jazz, Lakers, and Clippers are all extremely versatile and can win playoff series as well.

The East is a lot less spread out in terms of talent. Right now, the Nets are barely leading the 76ers, who are coping with an injured Joel Embiid, however, most expect the Nets to run away with the East and face one of the Western conference powerhouses in the NBA finals. The teams that could give the Nets a run for their money are the 76ers and the Bucks, while teams like the Knicks have been an incredible storyline and will continue to be under Tom Thibodeau, as they play a gritty smothering form of defense dating back as far as the 1990s style of play.

After a contract buyout with the Pistons, Blake Griffen has added needed depth to the Nets bench. Could he be the piece to put them over the top? I believe so. But never count LeBron James and Anthony Davis, if healthy, out. The defending champions are looking to remain champs after this season. But let’s see just how the second half and the stretch playoff run play out.

With all the young stars around the league, things aren’t just looking up for the winningest and most successful teams. With stars like Luca Doncic, Trae Young, and LaMelo Ball, among so many others, their respective teams look to contend in the near future for a long long time. So can this second half cement one of these rising stars as the MVP of the league? Probably not, as Embiid (now injured), LeBron, Curry and Jokic appear to be the front runners thus far. But hey, there’s plenty of season left for that to change.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Can the Knicks Make the Playoffs?

Author: Billy Taylor

Editor: Aaron Mesco

Going into the 2020-2021 NBA season, the New York Knicks were an afterthought in the conversation of what the Eastern Conference standings would look like at the season's end. Some may argue that they are still an afterthought, but there is no denying that the Knicks have made some noise this year and the idea of them making the playoffs is not completely out of the conversation.

In Leon Rose and William Wesley’s first year at the helm of the New York Knicks front office, they have suddenly curated a roster with a very young and solid core. There is definitely room for improvement, but new head coach Tom Thibodeau gets the most out of this roster and that is what counts for this year.

There are quite a few bright spots on this Knicks roster. R.J. Barrett is continuing to develop and looks as though he is blossoming into a certified shooting guard in the NBA. R.J. is averaging 17.2 points per game, nearly 3 points higher than last year. His field goal percentage has also improved from last year. Immanuel Quickley is proving to be a savvy draft pick by Leon Rose, averaging almost 13 points off the bench. You would like to see a better field goal percentage from him, but that could improve as time goes on similar to R.J. Barrett.

Derrick Rose is also a pleasant surprise to this Knicks team. When they initially traded for Rose, there was lots of warranted caution from fans who were let down by his first stint with the Knicks. When the Knicks traded for Rose in 2016, fans were hoping he could tap into his MVP talent from earlier in his career. When that didn’t happen, many fans in the NBA wrote him off. After playing with LeBron in Cleveland for two years, Rose landed in Minnesota with current Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and reinvented himself. Fast forward to 2021 and Rose is under Thibodeau again with more experience than ever. His stat sheet doesn’t jump out at you, but he has proven to be a valuable commodity to this team who can run the offense and keep the young players at ease in high leverage situations. He will be a free agent at season's end, and I believe the Knicks should strongly consider giving him another contract.

And of course, the biggest bright spot and certified MVP of this New York Knicks team is forward Julius Randle. Julius was the dreaded “consolation” prize of the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving sweepstakes in the summer of 2019. He was a nice player to acquire, but when your expectations were as high as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, it was a massive disappointment. However, he has improved in almost every category when compared to his 2019-2020 campaign and has proven himself as a guy who needs to stay on this Knicks team.

The Knicks don’t have the most talented roster, but what they lack in talent they make up for with heart and tenacity. They know they’re not the most talented, but on some nights that doesn’t matter. The problem with that is that it’s just SOME nights.

The biggest problem with this Knicks team is their inconsistent play. Despite their loss to Brooklyn on Monday, they didn’t give up until the final buzzer. Yes, they lost, but they lost to one of the best teams in their conference and made sure Brooklyn played until the end. They then followed that up with a loss to the best team in the east; the 76ers, in which they blew a 9-point lead in the fourth quarter. The 76ers have way more talent than the Knicks, but the Knicks will lose out on a playoff spot if they continue to let games like this slip away. This is even more important as the Knicks face a pretty harsh schedule in the second half of the season.

The remaining games left on the schedule for the Knicks will be quite the test for them. They have to face teams like the 76ers, Nets, Heat, Lakers, Clippers, and Nuggets. They also face some teams who are average on paper but aren’t pushovers by any stretch of the imagination. They have to not let games that are winnable slip through their fingers and watch whatever chance they have to make the playoffs wither away.

The Knicks also have to get healthy. They’re a little banged up right now with Derrick Rose missing time due to COVID protocols, Immanuel Quickley’s sore ankle, and Mitchell Robinson’s hand fracture.

As of right now, my confidence isn’t the highest with this team, but they have the chance to turn things around, as they have done several times this year. If they have enough resilience to steal a playoff spot with the schedule they have ahead of them, my confidence and the confidence of Knicks fans will shoot to highs we haven’t felt since 2013.