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Just saying. Losing more games than you win is super disappointing despite injuries when you have 3 stars, most of the games we’ve had at least 2 of the big 3. Philly is winning with just ONE
**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by licensed to ball,
- Start date
darthska
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Well players 3-15 matter, which the Lakers didn't prioritize.
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why did we sign nunn if hes never gonna play?
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Big names and familiar faces matter !
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Like 2/3 of the league is still competitive at least sometimes when they have one or both their stars out. It's annoying 
darthska
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How many games have been missed by the following this year?
- Embiid
- Jokic
- Lebby
- AD
- Russy
My suspicion is that Embiid & Jokic haven't missed a ton of games. That makes it a lot more convenient to gameplan night in and night out. Every night we wonder which 2 of our Faux 3 will play, or will we at least have 1 of them?
-foe
- Embiid
- Jokic
- Lebby
- AD
- Russy
My suspicion is that Embiid & Jokic haven't missed a ton of games. That makes it a lot more convenient to gameplan night in and night out. Every night we wonder which 2 of our Faux 3 will play, or will we at least have 1 of them?
-foe
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"You follow the box score every night...ONLY THE LAKERS"
Don't matter to me what anyone else is doing...except Brooklyn, I enjoy seeing that they're losing LOL
The only thing that I do care about is the team playing their best basketball when it matters the most.
I mean Utah wins a ton of games every year and flames out in the playoffs. Philly has one MVP type player (and IMO you have to be a star on both sides of the ball to be a most valuable candidate) and lots of serviceable role players.
Lakers have neither.
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Is there a big even out there worth signing? Don’t mind Bron at the 4 but def not the 5
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Lebron has played like an all star this season (at least offensively, if you want to keep it 100 he looks like he has no interest in playing defense about maybe 2/3 of the game now)
AD has played 37 games this season, how many of those has he played like an all star?
Same question for Russ...maybe 3 or 4 games tops.
Not that I can think of.... Laker fans were screaming for Jahlil Okafor a few years ago, he's available now LOL
AD has played 37 games this season, how many of those has he played like an all star?
Same question for Russ...maybe 3 or 4 games tops.
Not that I can think of.... Laker fans were screaming for Jahlil Okafor a few years ago, he's available now LOL
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How the Lakers will try to survive without Anthony Davis for at least a month
Anthony Davis will be re-evaluated in four weeks after an MRI revealed that the Lakers star has a mid-foot sprain in his right foot, the team announced Thursday.
The news is another devastating setback for the Lakers in a 2021-22 season that has been filled with devastating setbacks. Unfortunately, this type of blow potentially ends whatever optimism remained for the Lakers.
The prognosis indicates Davis will be out through at least March 17, meaning he’ll miss roughly 11 games on the conservative side. Here’s the Lakers’ schedule over that stretch.
The Mavericks, Warriors, Suns and Raptors games stand out as likely losses. The Clippers and Timberwolves are both mediocre but have already beaten the Lakers this season. The Pelicans, Spurs, Rockets and Wizards games are very winnable, though there have been few guarantees for Los Angeles this season.
Realistically, the Lakers are looking at another .500-ish stretch, which should be enough to keep them afloat as the No. 9 seed but not enough to make up ground in the standings.
Remember, though, that Davis was initially supposed to be re-evaluated after four weeks after he sprained his MCL on Dec. 17 in Minneapolis and ended up missing over five weeks of action. He more likely than not will miss additional time past that March 17 mark. The Lakers could be looking at another 15-plus-game absence for Davis.
The issue, obviously, is that the 27-31 Lakers need every win they can get at this point. They’re six games back from the sixth-seeded Denver Nuggets, which is the spot the Lakers would need to secure to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
On the flip side, the Lakers are two and a half games ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers for the 10th seed and four and a half games ahead of the Spurs and Pelicans for the 11th seed — the cut-off point for the Play-In tournament.
Davis has already missed 21 games this season, including the 17 games due to the sprained MCL. Interestingly, the Lakers are 17-20 in the games Davis has played and 10-11 in the games he has missed. They’ve also been outscored by 67 points in his 1,297 minutes — the fourth-worst mark among Lakers who have played 500-plus minutes this season.
The notion that Los Angeles is better without its best defender and its second-best player is foolish, of course. More recently, the Lakers are just 7-11 in the last 18 games Davis has missed. But Davis’ absence forces their hand into playing even smaller, which has been the Lakers’ most effective stylistic approach this season.
Head coach Frank Vogel’s inclination is to play big — he still prefers two-big lineups for defensive purposes — but he has said he’s made that concession due to how poorly those lineups have performed offensively.
That’s partially true. Lineups with Dwight Howard on the floor have actually performed well offensively (110.1 offensive rating). It’s the lineups with DeAndre Jordan (96.0 offensive rating) that have been anemic offensively. Jordan is no longer playable and should remain on the bench during this Davis-less stretch.
Vogel has continued to tinker with his starting lineups and will likely lean on a matchup-based approach in which he starts LeBron James at center in most instances but inserts Howard into the starting lineup when the Lakers are facing a Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid type.
Moving forward, the Lakers will need more from everybody — including James. It’s unclear how much more he can give considering the minutes, points and usage he’s endured over the past few months.
If anything, this was supposed to be the phase of the season in which the Lakers reduced James’ workload, if only slightly, to get him ready for heavy Play-In and playoff minutes. That’s clearly no longer the case as the Lakers will continue to risk burning James out.
The rest of the frontcourt also will have to step up. Stanley Johnson, Carmelo Anthony (when healthy) and Trevor Ariza will be asked to defend centers in certain matchups, and they need to hold their own as backline defenders and defensive rebounders. Even Austin Reaves and Talen Horton-Tucker will have more responsibility as the team’s two rangier wings. Howard will need to stay out of foul trouble and focus on controlling the paint on both ends.
As has been the case whenever James or Davis has missed time, Russell Westbrook is the Laker whose burden should increase the most — at least offensively.
Westbrook has played his worst basketball since Davis’ return in late January, struggling to acclimate to life as the third option (and sometimes fourth when alongside Malik Monk). Perhaps he’ll rediscover his mojo with Davis out and the ball in his hands more again. Westbrook and Davis often occupy some of the same spots on the floor, and Westbrook can function more like a big in the dunker spot and in pick-and-rolls with James when Davis is off the floor.
The Lakers’ center-less lineup data remains positive, which is the most encouraging sign for the Davis-less stretch. The Lakers need to do their best to remain as small as they can for as long as they can.
Per Cleaning The Glass, the Lakers have a plus-2.5 net differential when they play center-less lineups (Davis, Howard and Jordan off the floor). The offense is much more efficient, scoring 116.2 points per 100 possessions — a mark that would rank No. 1 in the NBA — and excelling in turnover rate and free-throw rate. The one area in which the Lakers are predictably worse is their offensive rebound rate.
With the floor spread in a five-out system, the Lakers are essentially impossible to contain on the perimeter. They are in the 97th percentile in attempts at the rim. The Lakers also generate more 3-pointers than on average. All of their spacing issues with two- or even one-big lineups dissipate.
The defensive end is the primary challenge without Davis. The Lakers’ center-less lineups have stumbled, allowing 113.7 points per 100 possessions, which would rank 28th leaguewide. Though they force more turnovers, they also give up more offensive rebounds and foul more frequently.
Given the limitations of Los Angeles’ frontcourt — there aren’t many two-way contributors, limiting Vogel’s lineup combinations — they are susceptible to being overwhelmed in matchups against superior size and/or athleticism.
The Lakers should have Davis back before the Play-In tournament and will likely be favored in any Play-In matchup. But his injury almost certainly relegates the Lakers into the No. 9/10 seed matchup, meaning they’ll have to win two Play-In games and will presumably face the Phoenix Suns in the first round again (the winner of the No. 7-8 matchup will earn the No. 7 seed and probably face the Golden State Warriors).
In a season full of unlucky breaks, this might be the worst. It’s at least the worst timing. The Lakers had seemingly cleared out the self-proclaimed fog that was clouding the team and were excited to take on the post-All-Star break slate with a new sense of purpose, spirit and energy.
It’s possible the Lakers are more competitive than expected without Davis. The success of the small blueprint is there data-wise, even if the record doesn’t necessarily bear it out.
But that’s why it’s also possible, if not probable, that that’s wishful thinking. The Lakers have the third-most difficult schedule the rest of the way, and Davis’ absence as a secondary scorer and all-world defender will likely be too much to overcome for a group with an already nonexistent margin for error.
Anthony Davis will be re-evaluated in four weeks after an MRI revealed that the Lakers star has a mid-foot sprain in his right foot, the team announced Thursday.
The news is another devastating setback for the Lakers in a 2021-22 season that has been filled with devastating setbacks. Unfortunately, this type of blow potentially ends whatever optimism remained for the Lakers.
The prognosis indicates Davis will be out through at least March 17, meaning he’ll miss roughly 11 games on the conservative side. Here’s the Lakers’ schedule over that stretch.
The Mavericks, Warriors, Suns and Raptors games stand out as likely losses. The Clippers and Timberwolves are both mediocre but have already beaten the Lakers this season. The Pelicans, Spurs, Rockets and Wizards games are very winnable, though there have been few guarantees for Los Angeles this season.
Realistically, the Lakers are looking at another .500-ish stretch, which should be enough to keep them afloat as the No. 9 seed but not enough to make up ground in the standings.
Remember, though, that Davis was initially supposed to be re-evaluated after four weeks after he sprained his MCL on Dec. 17 in Minneapolis and ended up missing over five weeks of action. He more likely than not will miss additional time past that March 17 mark. The Lakers could be looking at another 15-plus-game absence for Davis.
The issue, obviously, is that the 27-31 Lakers need every win they can get at this point. They’re six games back from the sixth-seeded Denver Nuggets, which is the spot the Lakers would need to secure to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
On the flip side, the Lakers are two and a half games ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers for the 10th seed and four and a half games ahead of the Spurs and Pelicans for the 11th seed — the cut-off point for the Play-In tournament.
Davis has already missed 21 games this season, including the 17 games due to the sprained MCL. Interestingly, the Lakers are 17-20 in the games Davis has played and 10-11 in the games he has missed. They’ve also been outscored by 67 points in his 1,297 minutes — the fourth-worst mark among Lakers who have played 500-plus minutes this season.
The notion that Los Angeles is better without its best defender and its second-best player is foolish, of course. More recently, the Lakers are just 7-11 in the last 18 games Davis has missed. But Davis’ absence forces their hand into playing even smaller, which has been the Lakers’ most effective stylistic approach this season.
Head coach Frank Vogel’s inclination is to play big — he still prefers two-big lineups for defensive purposes — but he has said he’s made that concession due to how poorly those lineups have performed offensively.
That’s partially true. Lineups with Dwight Howard on the floor have actually performed well offensively (110.1 offensive rating). It’s the lineups with DeAndre Jordan (96.0 offensive rating) that have been anemic offensively. Jordan is no longer playable and should remain on the bench during this Davis-less stretch.
Vogel has continued to tinker with his starting lineups and will likely lean on a matchup-based approach in which he starts LeBron James at center in most instances but inserts Howard into the starting lineup when the Lakers are facing a Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid type.
Moving forward, the Lakers will need more from everybody — including James. It’s unclear how much more he can give considering the minutes, points and usage he’s endured over the past few months.
If anything, this was supposed to be the phase of the season in which the Lakers reduced James’ workload, if only slightly, to get him ready for heavy Play-In and playoff minutes. That’s clearly no longer the case as the Lakers will continue to risk burning James out.
The rest of the frontcourt also will have to step up. Stanley Johnson, Carmelo Anthony (when healthy) and Trevor Ariza will be asked to defend centers in certain matchups, and they need to hold their own as backline defenders and defensive rebounders. Even Austin Reaves and Talen Horton-Tucker will have more responsibility as the team’s two rangier wings. Howard will need to stay out of foul trouble and focus on controlling the paint on both ends.
As has been the case whenever James or Davis has missed time, Russell Westbrook is the Laker whose burden should increase the most — at least offensively.
Westbrook has played his worst basketball since Davis’ return in late January, struggling to acclimate to life as the third option (and sometimes fourth when alongside Malik Monk). Perhaps he’ll rediscover his mojo with Davis out and the ball in his hands more again. Westbrook and Davis often occupy some of the same spots on the floor, and Westbrook can function more like a big in the dunker spot and in pick-and-rolls with James when Davis is off the floor.
The Lakers’ center-less lineup data remains positive, which is the most encouraging sign for the Davis-less stretch. The Lakers need to do their best to remain as small as they can for as long as they can.
Per Cleaning The Glass, the Lakers have a plus-2.5 net differential when they play center-less lineups (Davis, Howard and Jordan off the floor). The offense is much more efficient, scoring 116.2 points per 100 possessions — a mark that would rank No. 1 in the NBA — and excelling in turnover rate and free-throw rate. The one area in which the Lakers are predictably worse is their offensive rebound rate.
With the floor spread in a five-out system, the Lakers are essentially impossible to contain on the perimeter. They are in the 97th percentile in attempts at the rim. The Lakers also generate more 3-pointers than on average. All of their spacing issues with two- or even one-big lineups dissipate.
The defensive end is the primary challenge without Davis. The Lakers’ center-less lineups have stumbled, allowing 113.7 points per 100 possessions, which would rank 28th leaguewide. Though they force more turnovers, they also give up more offensive rebounds and foul more frequently.
Given the limitations of Los Angeles’ frontcourt — there aren’t many two-way contributors, limiting Vogel’s lineup combinations — they are susceptible to being overwhelmed in matchups against superior size and/or athleticism.
The Lakers should have Davis back before the Play-In tournament and will likely be favored in any Play-In matchup. But his injury almost certainly relegates the Lakers into the No. 9/10 seed matchup, meaning they’ll have to win two Play-In games and will presumably face the Phoenix Suns in the first round again (the winner of the No. 7-8 matchup will earn the No. 7 seed and probably face the Golden State Warriors).
In a season full of unlucky breaks, this might be the worst. It’s at least the worst timing. The Lakers had seemingly cleared out the self-proclaimed fog that was clouding the team and were excited to take on the post-All-Star break slate with a new sense of purpose, spirit and energy.
It’s possible the Lakers are more competitive than expected without Davis. The success of the small blueprint is there data-wise, even if the record doesn’t necessarily bear it out.
But that’s why it’s also possible, if not probable, that that’s wishful thinking. The Lakers have the third-most difficult schedule the rest of the way, and Davis’ absence as a secondary scorer and all-world defender will likely be too much to overcome for a group with an already nonexistent margin for error.
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If you think about it in a vacuum. The NBA is a weird league in that you can win a title, then about 9 months later unless you play lights out, you get called a fraud and everyone lines up to clown on you.
I can see why Lillard is like: hmmm, stay in Portland and fleece them for 50-60 mill a year or go to new team, give up money either via new team being smart not to give a 32 year old a 200 mill dollar deal or getting exposed in a late playoff run. Even if you win, they hate you the moment you lose a step (see AD).
I’ll take the money and no criticism.
I can see why Lillard is like: hmmm, stay in Portland and fleece them for 50-60 mill a year or go to new team, give up money either via new team being smart not to give a 32 year old a 200 mill dollar deal or getting exposed in a late playoff run. Even if you win, they hate you the moment you lose a step (see AD).
I’ll take the money and no criticism.
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If only Enes Kanter didn't go so hard at LeBron.
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FixedIf only Enes Kanter didn't go so hard ON CHINA.
He is beyond blackballed from the nba.
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Since 2020-2021
Games played:
Lebron 86
Ad 73
Kawhi 53
Pg 80
Harden 88
KD 71
Joel embiid 97
Jokic 124
Giannis 110
Doncic 110
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What bigs are available? We seem to okay with the small ball at times.
We need more scoring. Gary Harris and a solid defender would be a welcomed addition.
I keep saying GH's name just for wishful thinking but I'd love to have him. We wouldn't have to play Ellington anymore.
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Slim pickings right now. Maybe someone like Robin Lopez gets free? I would prefer a stretch big, but that's probably wishful thinking.
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Seems like Lopez & Muscala will be the main big men available.
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I know another guy who could help…
Only kinda srs
Only kinda srs
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Hey they talked about brining Dennis back... I've seen people say LA should have given Wes and McLemore another chance too
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Laugh all you want about Gasol but he would be our best true center on the team. Either he is that good or management really brought in 90 year old Howard and DJ to lead the centers against ayton, gobert, Jokic
You needed two podcasts to tell you that? All you had to do is ask, I woulda told ya.
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Kobe single handedly won that 2008 medal
Also, Kobe was a god in china. I’m sure Lebron felt some type of way about it bc lebron had been like a child actor in terms of fame and being spoiled.
For what it’s worth, Lebron was also young. We all have done stupid stuff Back in the days I guess
