Lakers Starters Said to Be a Tier Behind; Projected for 48-52 Wins but Facing Gaps vs Nuggets and Rockets

Lakers media figure Jovan Buha said while responding to fan questions on his latest podcast episode that the Lakers are in the Western Conference's second tier, alongside the Nuggets, Timberwolves and Rockets, but their starting lineup has a gap compared with those three teams.

The Western Conference landscape divided into two tiers

Buha believes the Western Conference's first tier consists of the Thunder and Spurs, while the second tier includes the Lakers, Nuggets, Timberwolves and Rockets. He expects these four teams to each finish with between 48 and 52 wins and directly secure playoff spots. Regarding opinions that place the Lakers at the bottom of the second tier, or even in a third tier alongside the Jazz, Warriors, Suns and Trail Blazers, he clearly said he "completely disagrees."

Depth is an advantage, but the starting lineup remains a weakness

Buha agrees with the view that the Lakers' roster depth is underrated and believes the team has advantages on the bench and in injury resilience. However, he also pushed back against fans' optimistic expectations for LaRavia and Ziaire Williams. Even if LaRavia regains his shooting touch, or Williams delivers a performance fitting his role, their ideal positions would still be as reserves. Buha's rotation assessment is that LaRavia is more like a seventh or eighth player, while Williams could be a sixth or seventh player, but both ultimately remain bench-level players.

Comparisons with three teams' starters highlight the gap

Buha further compared the starting lineups of the Nuggets, Rockets and Timberwolves. The Nuggets' starters include Jokic, Gordon, Cameron Johnson, Braun and Murray; the Rockets' projected starters are likely Sengun, Durant, Smith, Amen Thompson and VanVleet; and the Timberwolves' starters are Gobert, Kuminga, McDaniels, Edwards and Ball. He believes that comparing Johnson or Braun with LaRavia and Williams still shows a significant talent gap. He also mentioned that if Kuminga had signed with the Lakers at the time, he would definitely have started in place of Williams or LaRavia.