The Los Angeles Lakers front office is aware of LeBron James’ eagerness for that fifth NBA Championship and hence they have been very active in the offseason, making some brave deals. The Lakers have been more active than a lot of franchises this season and it shows that they are all set to right the wrong from last season.
But there are questions that despite roping in Russell Westbrook are the Lakers at par with the Brooklyn Nets or not. While last year there were no debates as the Nets were simply the better team, this year the dynamics have changed with Westbrook’s arrival. But still a former NBA Champion with the Golden State Warriors, Matt Barnes feels that the Nets are still ahead of the Purple and Gold army.
In a recent interview Matt Barnes who was Kevin Durant’s teammate from 2016/17 season at the Warriors where they won the NBA Championship, feels that the Nets are still the stronger of the two rosters when compared with Lakers. He disagreed with Kendrick Perkins’ statement of placing a bet on the Lakers as the favourite for the upcoming season. Barnes said, “I’m a Laker fan at heart but I’m gonna have to disagree with you. I’m leaning more towards the Brooklyn Nets. One because of age, and two because their three stars shoot the ball with great accuracy.”
Last season was a rare occasion when James Harden did not feature in at least 62 games in the entire season. Kyrie Erving also got injured but when he has played he has looked really good. Barnes feels that these two superstars will pick themselves up in the upcoming season.
Matt Barnes noted, “James Harden is very durable. So his injury this year hopefully was a fluke, hopefully he’ll be back to his normal stuff. Kyrie’s been in and out but most of the time you can count on Kyrie. Kevin Durant is Kevin Durant, he has proven it time and time again. But this team is a little bit younger and they can shoot the ball.”
Overall Matt Barnes speaks a lot of sense but the former Warriors player has not considered the arrival of Dwight Howard, who is back for this third stint at the Lakers. Howard will be a big piece in defence for the Purple and Gold army allowing the likes of Westbrook and others to play freely.
