I got it at +375, it is that in a lot of places still......I actually was going to bet Lakers +200 to win the division but I figured the Clippers can fade injuries better and at the time I didn't really know Kawhi was going to be so committed to the rest pattern. Lakers are more built for the postseason than regular season as well (AD tends to miss regular season games and LeBron is 35 and hasn't had a truly dominant regular season in 3 years) so I didn't bet it.
I think it is the best fit roster that LeBron has ever been on and up there with the most talented with a few of the early Heat teams. Think LeBron is slightly past apex but it's still a great fit.
Danny Green is one of the most underrated players of the last 10 years and was meant to play with LeBron. Elite catch and shoot 3 point shooting and defense. As good as he was on the Raptors last year, they really didn't have a playmaker like LeBron to get him the looks he could get now.
Avery Bradley on ball D vs quick guards has always been excellent, he's very injury prone so we'll see if he can stay healthy.
Rondo's role was just too big last year once Lonzo got hurt, but as the secondary ballhandler with a elite scoring big, he's in his ideal role. Excelled in NO in 2017-2018 with this fit.
Kuzma is an interesting player, can score 16-18 without plays being called for him. That has a lot of value on a team with LeBron/AD soaking up all the usage/defensive attention.
Dwight/McGee give them size for the grind of the season but really Davis should be at the 5 with 3 wing players+LeBron as their ideal crunch time lineup.
There is some chance they get Iguodala off the buyout market, that would be huge as their main competition is going to be the Clippers and his ability to defend Leonard/George would be a perfect fit.
One thing you don't really hear people talk about as well is what happens when they play the Clippers in the playoffs? I'm not saying it is going to be 7 home games but I doubt they feel like they're playing on the road in a hostile environment because their is a Clippers logo on the court. Their fans outnumber LAC fans like 10-1 and are rich, one of the reasons Ballmer has his eyes on moving the team out of Staples but obviously that ain't happening this year.
Then for some intangible stuff that I don't tend to be a big fan of but are certainly worth mentioning. This is just a much different roster makeup than LeBron has been around in awhile and is likely the type of discipline he needs at this point in his career. The other best player on the team is 9 years younger than him and thus a better asset, you got other guys that have played in the finals and won championships. On the Cavs, he had guys that he was basically their agent and at times it felt like he was a co-owner of the team. On the Lakers last year, it was a bunch of 21 year olds still trying to learn the game.
(wow, that was a long post...I type fast)
