ESPN Gives LeBron James Very Bad Projection For The Upcoming Season

Everyone is so excited about LeBron James’ first season with the Los Angeles Lakers. His arrival in the big city means a lot to his friends, and yes, there’s a general excitement out there. However, some basketball pundits and statistical models are somewhat skeptical.

ESPN’s Basketball Power Index is sort of optimistic on the Lakers game. The team has a five percent chance of winning the Western Conference, and that’s the best projection the Lakers have received since 2011-12.

“The Los Angeles Lakers, with James at the helm, have a 5 percent chance of representing the West in the NBA Finals this season. That might not sound like a ton, but it’s their best chance to pull off the feat according to preseason BPI since the 2011-12 season. And James’ move has sprung opportunity in the East, while the West has become more crowded.”

“In the early days following James’ signing, the cast of characters that will surround him in purple and gold was considered weak and unorthodox enough that folks wondered: Are the Lakers even going to make the playoffs? To that, BPI has weighed in fairly convincingly and given L.A. an 88 percent chance to reach the playoffs. However, no James team in the past decade has had worse than a 99.8 percent preseason shot to make the playoffs. The Lakers’ 40 percent chance to reach the conference semifinals is also a low for James in the past 10 seasons,” ESPN’s experts say.

Well, Kobe’s fans may not agree on this one, but this is the best Los Angeles Lakers team in a long, long time.
The young Lakers had a great game last season, and had the 12th ranked defense in the NBA. Yes, they can be the pillar of the winning team. LeBron can just push them a little bit forward, and give them the chance to win. Seems nice and real.