The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping for an improved 2021-22 campaign following a disappointing ending to the previous year.

Los Angeles brought in essentially a brand-new roster during the offseason.

Russell Westbrook spearheaded the acquisitions, while players like Kendrick Nunn, Malik Monk, Kent Bazemore, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony and more arrived through free agency.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis will still lead the charge, but the free-agent additions are more offensive-minded than last year. That should relieve the pressure off James and Davis’ regular-season workload.

John Hollinger of The Athletic released his prediction for the team this season:

Prediction: 52-30, third in Western Conference

Between the addition of Westbrook and the fact that James and Davis are likely to miss fewer games this season, the Lakers should be able to load-manage their stars through the season and still avoid the indignity of a seventh-place finish and a Play-In game.

The Lakers also addressed some depth and shooting issues, however imperfectly. Yes, they signed too many old guys, but the likes of Nunn, Monk and Bazemore can really help if they aren’t pushed out by the veteran riffraff.

That said, I don’t think we can elevate them to the status of favorites in the conference just yet. The fit issues with the three best players put a lot of pressure on tertiary performers to give them some semblance of playoff-caliber spacing, and I’m not sure the talent is overwhelming enough to offset the wonky fit.

If there’s one thing LeBron James’ career has told us,  it’s that doubting him is an effective way to look like an idiot. He turns 37 in December and has played more than 60,000 NBA minutes, yet he has lost precious little from his peak. His presence alone almost assures the Lakers of being a legit contender, but as Phoenix showed a year ago, the Lakers don’t operate with much of a margin. We can call them “co-favorites” in this conference along with a few other teams, all of whom would be underdogs against Milwaukee or Brooklyn. Whether they actually crash the NBA Finals depends heavily on the quality of Westbrook’s fit.

Hollinger has the Phoenix Suns finishing in second, and the Utah Jazz taking first. That’s where both teams finished last season, and both teams didn’t lose any key players while adding quality talents in areas of weakness.

As the 0-6 record in the preseason highlighted, the Lakers have an uphill climb ahead of them in order to win title No. 18 this season.