The Los Angeles Lakers had a polarizing offseason, but rival Dillon Brooks believes they strongly regressed. Any Lakers fans expecting Brooks to cool down his anti-Lakers persona due to LeBron James leaving the team are already proven wrong. Brooks has loved being a villain to teams with James, Stephen Curry, and other superstars who he tries to physically defend.
Twitch streamer Neon interviewed the NBA enforcer during a live stream and asked about the Lakers’ chances of success after losing LeBron. Brooks dropped the following brutal prediction:
“Oh, the Lakers are sweet. They’re so sweet. They’re about to get…. If Luka don’t average 40, ha ha ha.”
The claim of Brooks is that Luka Doncic must average close to 40 points per game for the team to have any chance. General Manager Rob Pelinka clearly took a chance by losing James and investing in flawed players that he hopes fits around Doncic to have a good team.
Brooks clearly doesn’t respect the new additions of noteworthy players like Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton, and Quentin Grimes as the main new pieces. Despite the Lakers having a plan in place for the system, Brooks doesn’t anticipate them having enough talent to make noise in the Western Conference seeding like the previous two seasons.
Why Dillon Brooks Words Hold Some Truth
Brooks loves to talk trash and insult others when he gets the chance to publicly do it. The Lakers are always going to be a high profile matchup to inspire his hostility. However, others believe that the team got worse after losing many of head coach JJ Redick’s favorite players.
Losing James was bad enough, but a handful of other respected players who helped them get the fourth seed are gone too. Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, and Jaxson Hayes are all notable losses for the Lakers for a team that already had some flaws.
Doncic and Austin Reaves will be tasked with playing their best possible basketball for the Lakers to even make the playoffs, let alone seriously contend for the title. Brooks may be going far by saying Luka needs to average a historic 40 points, but he will be called upon to stay healthy and dominate all season long.
How Lakers Can Prove Dillon Brooks Wrong
The Dallas Mavericks had a similar plan for Luka that helped them make the 2024 NBA Finals. Despite falling short against the Boston Celtics, Luka led a roster with many question marks through the competitive Western Conference.
Reaves must replicate Kyrie Irving’s production as a co-star and start making All-Star teams. Kessler could be the perfect center to pair with Doncic if he can stay healthy and prove that he’s one of the best paint defending big men in the league.
The role players will need Luka and Reaves to carry most of the offense, but they are capable of stepping up. Unfortunately, teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder a tough place to contend. The Lakers will look to win games in the regular season and build winning habits from there to hopefully contend.
Dillon Brooks Makes Bold Lakers Prediction Mocking Moves