The Los Angeles Lakers added Gary Payton and Karl Malone before the 2003-4 season, moves that gave them a daunting lineup on paper that already included Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Derek Fischer.
They even added the ancient Horace Grant who was eager to chase one more ring in LA.
The Lakers romped through the Western Conference to the Finals, where they met a Detroit Pistons team that wasn’t nearly as star-studded.
They may have been called the “best five alive” by locals, but no one else gave the Pistons a chance to beat the heavily favored Lakers. You may recall that the Pistons eviscerated LA in a gentleman’s sweep that completely changed the narrative around the Lakers.
LA tried to skip steps by adding stars only to get beaten by a better team that had more depth and chemistry.
The Pistons hope this same fate awaits the Philadelphia 76ers, who are the latest version of that Lakers squad.
The 76ers could have chemistry and injury issues
One advantage Detroit will have in the Eastern Conference is their continuity, as they are bringing most of their team back and are now a group that has grown together.
The Pistons didn’t have the splashiest offseason, but they are fresh off 60 wins and didn’t want to disrupt the things that made them good just to chase names that would make casual fans happy.
So, they didn’t land Kevin Durant, Kyrie or Kawhi, while the 76ers were the offseason’s loudest team, trading for Jaylen Brown and LeBron James, two players who have won Finals MVP awards.
Just like the Lakers of 2003-4, these 76ers are stacked with legendary names that will end up on the wall of the Hall of Fame, but also like those Lakers, they are older and will face some injury risks and growing pains.
It’s not going to be easy to find shots for so many players who are used to getting them, as we are talking about some of the most ball-dominant players in the league on one team in LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
Last season, LeBron had a usage rate of 27.2 percent, which was actually low for him, as he has averaged over 31 percent for his career. Brown had one of the highest usage rates in the league last year at 36.2 percent, Maxey was at 29.4 percent, and Joel Embiid was at 33.5 percent.
Something will have to give, especially when all of these guys except Embiid are used to being the primary initiator of the offense.
Then you get to the inevitable injuries. Karl Malone got hurt just before the 2003-4 playoffs, which was unusual for a guy who had been one of the league’s All-Time Iron Men.
But Father Time is undefeated, and at some point, it will catch LeBron the same way it caught Malone. Or maybe not, who knows, LeBron is a freak of nature. But keep in mind that Malone had missed nine games TOTAL in his entire career prior to his age 40 season. LeBron will be 42 in December.
We know Embiid will get hurt at some point or at least have to miss games to avoid getting hurt, so the usage rate problem could sort itself out. In other words, these 76ers may be better equipped than those Lakers were, but they have some of the same red flags.
No one will pick the Pistons, and they will be underestimated as always. Their starting five may not stack up to the 76ers in terms of legends, but they’ll have better continuity and chemistry, which may be enough to do to Philly what they did to LA.
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