Will LeBron and Westbrook coexist in LA?

Heading into the 2021-22 NBA season, all the hype will be centered around Los Angeles. The question will be what makes one think the two big names for the Los Angeles Lakers in LeBron James and Russell Westbrook, will be able to coexist, and is there a potential of there being a three-headed monster scenario (if you include Anthony Davis) like we see in Brooklyn with Kevin Durant, James Harding, and Kyrie Irving?

What we found out this past year was having a three-headed monster system does not mean a slam dunk championship. The Milwaukee Bucks do have one of the best players in the game in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and were able to build around the Greek Freak this past season with a nucleus of talent which included Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday. What Middleton and Holiday were able to accomplish this year is special as they won the NBA Finals and Olympic gold in the same year. However, it might be too premature to put Middleton and Holiday in the same category as Harding and Irving or Westbrook and Davis.

Returning to the Lakers situation, Westbrook will be the player to watch out for the most. We all know about his record-breaking triple-double season, but the bottom line is that Westbrook’s phenomenal statistic line, has not always equated to wins. Washington was still four games below the .500 mark last season at 34 wins and 38 losses.

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The other question about the Wizards season last year was surrounding their abysmal year defensively. Washington gave up an NBA-worst 118.5 points per game. One needs to ask does Los Angeles get weaker with Westbrook on their team when they do not have ball possession?

The Lakers are banking on the fact that Westbrook and James will find chemistry. At least more chemistry than Harden and Westbrook had two seasons ago with the Houston Rockets.

There can also be an interesting comparison made between the two Lakers now in James and Westbrook versus Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant at the beginning of the century. Yes, Bryant and Shaq won three championships together in three straight seasons (2000 to 2002), but there was constant tension and friction between the two, which ultimately led to O’Neal being traded to the Miami Heat in 2004. Time will tell what happens with the Lakers this season.

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