Lakers

[LiveCoug]

It’s happening

LOL. The Lakers look like trash. Lebron and his merry misfits. Sorry bro.

Next year is the year you are willying for.

[smokymountainrain]

Lakers are long and athletic, but damn, how do you add LeBron and fall to add any three point shooting whatsoever? 0-15 so far tonight from three- middle of the third as i type this post.

[Donuthole]

Lakers are long and athletic, but damn, how do you add LeBron and fall to add any three point shooting whatsoever? 0-15 so far tonight from three- middle of the third as i type this post.

Sounds like the perfect fit for Jimmer.

[smokymountainrain]

Sounds like the perfect fit for Jimmer.

joking aside, since he was drafted, i thought Jimmer's best chance to succeed in the league would be to play with LeBron.

also, the more i watched the Lakers, i realized that while 3pt shooting is an issue - they still put up 119 points last night. the bigger issue they will have this season is defense - they simply can't defend. young players generally have a hard time with defense anyway, then you have guys like LeBron and Rondo, who as they have piled up the mileage have dropped off significantly - and they have a glaring lack of rim protection outside of McGee. if you have to rely on McGee in any substantial way, you have problems.

[Surfah]

joking aside, since he was drafted, i thought Jimmer's best chance to succeed in the league would be to play with LeBron.

also, the more i watched the Lakers, i realized that while 3pt shooting is an issue - they still put up 119 points last night. the bigger issue they will have this season is defense - they simply can't defend. young players generally have a hard time with defense anyway, then you have guys like LeBron and Rondo, who as they have piled up the mileage have dropped off significantly - and they have a glaring lack of rim protection outside of McGee. if you have to rely on McGee in any substantial way, you have problems.

The other issue is rebounding. They got beat up on the glass last night.

Still the Lakers scored at will in the paint. And Stephenson, Bron, Kuz, and Ingram won't combine for 1-19 from three most nights. If they could shoot they'd be legit. Hopefully Kuz finds his stroke. He is such a versatile player. But his long ball was off last night and all preseason.

[smokymountainrain]

The other issue is rebounding. They got beat up on the glass last night.

Still the Lakers scored at will in the paint. And Stephenson, Bron, Kuz, and Ingram won't combine for 1-19 from three most nights. If they could shoot they'd be legit. Hopefully Kuz finds his stroke. He is such a versatile player. But his long ball was off last night and all preseason.

agreed about Kuzma- i thought he would thrive with LeBron. still think he will, tbh, i mean it is early.

just not sure i trust ingram as a Lebron's Robin. I think Ball can be really good, but not sure he's a fit on this roster. I think you go with a LeBron, Ingram, Kuzma, Hart lineup as often as possible and it may not matter who the fifth guy is in the group of Rondo, McGee, Stephenson, Ball and KCP. but that foursome needs to be playing 30+ minutes every game.

[Surfah]

agreed about Kuzma- i thought he would thrive with LeBron. still think he will, tbh, i mean it is early.

just not sure i trust ingram as a Lebron's Robin. I think Ball can be really good, but not sure he's a fit on this roster. I think you go with a LeBron, Ingram, Kuzma, Hart lineup as often as possible and it may not matter who the fifth guy is in the group of Rondo, McGee, Stephenson, Ball and KCP. but that foursome needs to be playing 30+ minutes every game.

I agree with Shaq last night that Kuz needs to start.

[Surfah]

Lakers get their first win.

They're number 2 in PPG with 126.8 on 50% FG. And that's with the some of the worst FT and 3Pt shooting in the league. This team would be lethal offensively if they could shoot. Defensively....

[smokymountainrain]

Lakers get their first win.

They're number 2 in PPG with 126.8 on 50% FG. And that's with the some of the worst FT and 3Pt shooting in the league. This team would be lethal offensively if they could shoot. Defensively....

not to mention, lebron has yet to find any kind of groove from the 3pt line so far - shooting 17% from three and is pretty much at about 36% at this point in his career. if he can get to that career mark, it will open things up even more. they will struggle to shoot from three all year, but if LeBron alone can get to his recent career averages, they could still be pretty scary offensively. Walton is doing a good job of focusing on the strengths of his team with an emphasis on paint points and fast break points.

[Surfah]

This team runs. Slack for a second and they're gone. Never in my life would I have thought Lance Stephenson would be the catalyst on a Lakers team. But there you go. Also, Lonzo's shot seems to be coming around and he's becoming an elite defender at the PG position.

[Flystripper]

I was very impressed with how they defended and rebounded in crunch time. Denver is a pretty dang good team. Jokic is such a load.


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[Surfah]

I was very impressed with how they defended and rebounded in crunch time. Denver is a pretty dang good team. Jokic is such a load.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agreed. I assumed this was a loss the way they played against Denver in the preseason and coming on the second night of a B2B. I think Lonzo needs to start ahead of Rondo when he gets back. Lonzo pushes the ball and gets it up. I feel that the offense flows much better with him. Same with Hart over KCP.

[LiveCoug]

It was nice that the Nuggets lost. That's all I have to say about that.

[smokymountainrain]

Agreed. I assumed this was a loss the way they played against Denver in the preseason and coming on the second night of a B2B. I think Lonzo needs to start ahead of Rondo when he gets back. Lonzo pushes the ball and gets it up. I feel that the offense flows much better with him. Same with Hart over KCP.

I think the starting lineup from last night is your best starting lineup going forward. Fighting may have and probably should cost both Ingram and Rondo starting spots.

[smokymountainrain]

#crazylebronstats

check out the link below.

https://nbamath.com/nba-individual-playoffs/

a couple things stand out:

that lebron has 5 of the top 8
notice the players who have 10+ years experience and/or are age 30+ - this is almost comical.

more:

Most VORP ever in one playoffs and now 5 of the top 6 runs.

Player VORP Year
1. LeBron James 3.71 2018
2. Tim Duncan 3.52 2003
3. LeBron James 3.21 2012
4. LeBron James 3.15 2016
5. LeBron James 2.95 2009
6. LeBron James 2.95 2013

Highest Box/Plus for someone playing through the finals

Rank Player BPM Year
1. LeBron James 18.16 2009
2. Kareem 14.81 1977
3. Michael Jordan*. 14.30 1990
4. LeBron James 13.99 2018
5. Michael Jordan*. 13.81 1991

Second Highest PER for someone playing through the Finals, just below Mikan

Rank Player PER Year
1. Hakeem Olajuwon* 38.96 1988
2. LeBron James 37.39 2009
3. George Mikan* 33.58 1954
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*32.35 1977
5. LeBron James 32.24 2018