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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 18, 2022 7:23:07 GMT -5
Figure with the season starting today, deserves its own thread now
First up tonight
Lakers @ Warriors Sixers @ Morons
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Post by doakley8 on Oct 18, 2022 10:14:15 GMT -5
Saw over/under 42.5 wins for Lakers on NBA TV I think it was..and they took the under. That surprised me
I love to see LBJ fail..but I think they can get some W's
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 18, 2022 11:10:55 GMT -5
Saw over/under 42.5 wins for Lakers on NBA TV I think it was..and they took the under. That surprised me I love to see LBJ fail..but I think they can get some W's
I'd take the under as well for a handful of reasons.
(1) Injuries - Let's face facts. Lebron is old and has been dealing with injuries in recent years - ditto for Pat Bev. AD is nicknamed Street Clothes for a reason. On top of that Schroder is already hurt, Nunn looks fine but is coming off a lot of missed time to injury. TBryant already has an ailment and has played 93 games the last 3 seasons. Westbrook might be surprisingly defiant to father time but he's turning 34 next month with huge mileage, at some point the wear and tear gets you.
(2) Is the roster really any good? They still have the same questionable big 3 of Lebron-AD-Russ in terms of fit. Yeah they added Pat Bev, Schroder and get a healthy Nunn and that makes for a better backcourt but beyond that it's what.... Walker? JTA? Reaves? Troy Brown? A C duo of Bryant/Jones - which has some talent/potential but it's the type of C tandem you want if you are say the Warriors are SUPER loaded elsewhere - the Lakers are not that?
(3) Rookie HC. I'm sure Ham will be fine but it's still a rookie HC.
(4) Distractions. Let's not kid ourselves, Russ is going to be a distraction for as long as he is on the team. Whether he's on the court playing like he plays, off the court, not partaking in huddles, involved in trade rumors, saying stuff to the media etc. I also think at some point bad Pat Bev will show up. At some point this team might just dissolve into Lebron stat chasing to catch up to Kareem faster.
(5) The West is stacked. Golden State and Phoenix are still top notch. Denver, Portland and Clips are healthy and improved. Minnesota loaded up. New Orleans, Memphis and Dallas are legit. Even the Kings should be competitive. There's really only 4 teams that should be layups and that's Utah, OKC, SA, HOU - and even then, they can and will hang with the Lakers because they have youth and athleticism and will give the Lakers fits. Then on top of that the East is pretty solid too obviously.
This team is ultimately going to live and die by Lebron/AD and their health and unfortunately a repeat of 2019-2020 in that respect is unlikely. Plus that team was stacked with reliable veteran depth. This team, not so much.
If I had to bet, this team goes 40-42 and in the play-in.
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Post by doakley8 on Oct 18, 2022 11:41:13 GMT -5
oh but LBJ is gonna past Kareem..and what LBJ says yesterday "is a really really big deal." self hyping it ofcourse I'll pass on following it
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Post by doakley8 on Oct 18, 2022 13:49:19 GMT -5
MVP: Freak ROY: Keegan Murray DPOY: BAM 6th: Poole MIP: Maxey COY: Jenkins
Warriors over Bucks in 6
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 18, 2022 14:37:25 GMT -5
MVP: Freak ROY: Keegan Murray DPOY: BAM 6th: Poole MIP: Maxey COY: Jenkins Warriors over Bucks in 6
MVP: Joker!.... kidding. It's probably Luka's time. ROY: Banchero. Magic will win 22 games and he will stat stuff DPOY: Draymond, He'll be angry because he didn't get the contract, so he'll just play angry. Since they don't need him to score, just more energy on defense. 6th: Herro/Poole are the obvious choices but I'm thinking another highly talented wing off the bench. Brogdon. He could see big minutes at three positions. MIP: Brunson. By virtue of inflated stats. That's all. COY: Willie Green. Voters like a jump in wins and Hornets should do better than 36-46.
F it. Clippers over Raptors just to be random.
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 19, 2022 7:17:46 GMT -5
Gotta love this stretch
Lakers down 10 with 8:15 left in the 3rd
8:15 AD brick
8:07 AD brick
7:58 Russ brick 7:37 Russ turnover 7:16 Lebron turnover 7:09 Nunn turnover 6:54 Steph blocks an AD jumper 6:52 AD makes layup 6:23 Reaves brick 6:00 Lebron turnover 5:32 AD brick 5:07 PatBev brick 4:31 Ryan turnover 4:12 PatBev turnover 3:50 AD brick 3:45 JTA turnover 3:00 Ryan brick 2:34 Ryan brick 2:02 Ryan brick
Lakers down 27 with 1:35 left in the 3rd
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Post by YoungThundercat on Oct 19, 2022 7:45:01 GMT -5
Gotta love this stretch Lakers down 10 with 8:15 left in the 3rd
8:15 AD brick
8:07 AD brick
7:58 Russ brick 7:37 Russ turnover 7:16 Lebron turnover 7:09 Nunn turnover 6:54 Steph blocks an AD jumper 6:52 AD makes layup 6:23 Reaves brick 6:00 Lebron turnover 5:32 AD brick 5:07 PatBev brick 4:31 Ryan turnover 4:12 PatBev turnover 3:50 AD brick 3:45 JTA turnover 3:00 Ryan brick 2:34 Ryan brick 2:02 Ryan brick Lakers down 27 with 1:35 left in the 3rd
I have to admit, I'm terrified as a Lakers fan knowing how much ownership cares about PR and public perception, that if the nightmare scenario happens and LA is sitting at the 8th best lotto odds and maybe LBJ or AD hurt at the trade deadline, they'll still make a Russ trade just to avoid possibly giving NO what ends up being the Wenbanyama or Scoot Henderson pick. Aside from that, I don't know how any Lakers fans could possibly think this was going to go any different (which I know you were with me EE in knowing how bad it was going to be).
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Post by varsity on Oct 19, 2022 9:15:49 GMT -5
MVP: Freak ROY: Keegan Murray DPOY: BAM 6th: Poole MIP: Maxey COY: Jenkins Warriors over Bucks in 6 MVP: Luka ROY: Banchero DPOY: Evan Mobley 6th: Herro MIP: MPJ COY: Willie Green Bucks over Clippers in 6.
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 19, 2022 10:48:51 GMT -5
Gotta love this stretch..... Lakers down 27 with 1:35 left in the 3rd
I have to admit, I'm terrified as a Lakers fan knowing how much ownership cares about PR and public perception, that if the nightmare scenario happens and LA is sitting at the 8th best lotto odds and maybe LBJ or AD hurt at the trade deadline, they'll still make a Russ trade just to avoid possibly giving NO what ends up being the Wenbanyama or Scoot Henderson pick. Aside from that, I don't know how any Lakers fans could possibly think this was going to go any different (which I know you were with me EE in knowing how bad it was going to be).
A lot of my friends/family who are Laker fans seem wildly oblivious to how bad the Lakers have been. Yes the Lakers won the 2020 title. Yes the Lakers have Lebron/AD - and I suppose Russ if you want to tout that he's a future HOFer. BUT... and I've posted this a few times.... last 9 years, the team has 7 losing seasons. They have the same amount of playoff appearances in that span as Orlando, Detroit, Minnesota and Charlotte. This last season was an utter embarrassment.
My point? The Lakers' ownership is not oblivious to this ineptitude, namely Jeannie. The Lakers' front office is not oblivious. Neither is Lebron. Neither are Laker fans who actually pay attention, the ones smart enough to know the Russ move was a disaster from the get-go and not hoodwinked by fantasy basketball stats. Neither are Laker fans who actually watched this team last season and witnessed one of the more underwhelming offseasons ever for a team aspiring to contend. Such as yourself, I and many others who simply know basketball.
The Lakers clearly prioritized 2023 cap flexibility and keeping their draft capital more than desperation win now moves that would only serve to make them above mediocre versus actually propelling them to a true shot at a title. Which is understandable BUT to your point, if midway in the season and this team is toiling in mediocrity in the standings, underachieving amidst a wave of distressingly weak performance, public outcry from the fans and then - which might be the most impactful of all - pressure from LeGM to "do something", yeah I can see the franchise crumbling under the weight of the pressure/embarrassment and making the type of Russ trade at the deadline that they avoided in the offseason.
I'm sure for all the talk of Lebron wanting to make it work with Russ and his hopes of keeping cap space to lure his buddy Kyrie in 2023, the idea of wasting one of his last seasons and having the public more and more turning him (unfairly but since when does that matter) into a stat-chasing loser who'll never catch up to Kobe let alone MJ in terms of rings has to alter his mindset on some level. We've seen LeGM many times before and wouldn't surprise me if it reared its ugly head again.
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Post by wareagle on Oct 19, 2022 15:07:52 GMT -5
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 19, 2022 15:48:19 GMT -5
Lebron's words at an interview post game (via Rachel Nichols' twitter):
"We're not a team constructed of great shooting. It's not like we're sitting here with a lot of lasers on our team...like if you had a bunch of underneath route runners, the quarterback's not throwing 20+ yard passes downfield."
This is akin to a QB saying "We're not a team constructed of speed and athleticism, we just have a bunch of Hunter Renfrow and TE-types". Not great.
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Post by doakley8 on Oct 21, 2022 7:40:00 GMT -5
oh my damn, damn Brodie.. 0-11
Flakeshow ...9-45 3's...why the hell are they shooting so many 3's lol
and turns out that Zubac guy is pretty good 14/17/5
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 21, 2022 7:49:49 GMT -5
Pat Bev last month: "They’re gonna be playing with me. I made the playoffs last year, they didn’t. It’s a difference … I’m glad that, you know, we get a chance to play with each other.”
2 games
16.7fg% 18.2 3fg% 3 turnovers to 2 field goals made
9 fouls to 8 points
Fantastic!
Yeah the Lakers kept it close but mind you Kawhi and Wall were brought off the bench, played limited minutes and neither played a game last season. So they aren't playing the Clippers as we expect them to be.
FWIW John Wall looked great. Honestly he really should see more PT than Jackson as the season progresses. He'll go down as easily one of the best FA signings this past offseason if he can stay healthy.
On the flip side, for as awful as Russ/PatBev/Nunn/Reaves were, at least Walker looked good. 2-9 on threes isn't ideal but 7-12 inside three, showed solid athleticism and aggressiveness.
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 24, 2022 18:14:01 GMT -5
Via Shams per HR: "The Lakers have had preliminary discussions in recent weeks about a possible trade involving Spurs swingman Josh Richardson, sources tell Charania. San Antonio still has a significant amount of cap room available this season and could take on Westbrook’s contract without having to match salaries. However, the Spurs would need to trade at least one more player in addition to Richardson to be able to absorb Westbrook’s $47MM+ cap hit."
Richardson is a proven 3&D guy on an expiring deal and always made sense for the Lakers when the Russ to San Antonio rumbles existed.
We'll see if the Lakers ever decide to back off their desire to not add long-term salary and part with their future picks BUT if their abysmal three-point shooting continues and they correspondingly continue to lose games and the distraction around Russ lingers and the pressure mounts, a deal of McBuckets + Richards for RW + 1st rd pick is probably going to always be there for the taking.
A lineup of PatBev, Richardson, McDermott, Lebron, AD would be pretty darn good on both ends of the court.
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Post by doakley8 on Oct 25, 2022 8:27:51 GMT -5
My Blazers are 4-0! Dame time 33 / 5.5 / 5.5
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 25, 2022 10:38:38 GMT -5
Haliburton
24ppg 4.3rpg 9.8apg 1.5 spg 2.5 3pg 52.4fg% 43.5 3fg% 95.2ft%
Only 4 games but what a torrid start.
The Wendambaya watch:
Spurs 3-1 Jazz 3-1 Pistons 1-2
Rockets 1-3 Pelicans 0-3...... courtesy of the Lakers. Can you imagine if the Lakers get the #1 pick and it goes to New Orleans because of the swap option.
Kings 0-3 Thunder 0-3 Magic 0-4
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 27, 2022 11:08:00 GMT -5
Team is already in midseason form. Anthony Davis is already banged up
Russ is 28.9% shooting and 8.3% on threes and trade rumors are swirling
PatBev is absolutely useless on offense, which isn't surprising. What is surprising is Nunn is similarly useless.
The team is starting guys who should never sniff a starting lineup on a good team (last year Gabriel/S.Johnson, this year already Austin Reaves) One of the leading scorers is some rando free agent guard pickup looking to capitalize on the crappy Lakers for more $ (last year Monk, this year Walker)
And..... the team is resorting to "Look at the clip of this Lebron dunk. WOW!" since it's not like the team can talk about wins.
Only 4 games but
Lakers 2nd to last in PPG, 2nd to last in FG%, easilyyyyyyy dead last in 3FG%,T-4th last in FTA So all in all, inept on offense
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Post by doakley8 on Oct 27, 2022 11:38:53 GMT -5
Well..I'm a hater..I'm enjoying the shitshow
Lose 50 games is fine with me..I just need AD to play 75 games for fantasy purposes.
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Post by doakley8 on Oct 28, 2022 7:39:19 GMT -5
Looking like the same ole Lottery bound Kings, and Mike Brown will be gone in 2.5 years
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 28, 2022 12:57:04 GMT -5
Crazy to think that since their last playoff appearance in 2006, they are on their 9th coach - and that's not even including interim guys like Gentry, Corbin and Natt. Turning to a retread like Mike Brown was just silly. Of course I say that from still being jaded by his short stint with the Lakers. I get they wanted a "stern voice" to fix the locker room and the defense but they'd honestly have been better off just hiring a Darvin Ham-type.
They just simply stink on defense. Just like last year and the year before. No shot blocking threat or true interior presence. No true lockdown perimeter defender.
I think what this team needs is to shift Sabonis to the 4 and get a big who can block shots and has range. Yeah guys like Brook Lopez and Jaren Jackson Jr. don't exactly grow on trees but this team would be best off defensively with Murray at the 3 / Sabonis at the 4. What about Barnes? He sucks. He's also on an expiring contract meaning he could be a good trade chip.
Honestly they should just trade for Mo Bamba when he is eligible to be moved.
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Post by varsity on Oct 28, 2022 14:37:32 GMT -5
Didn't understand the Haliburton move then and don't understand it now. They essentially traded a future cornerstone piece for a much more expensive cornerstone piece under the guise of "improvement." And as noted by EE the Mike Brown move was disastrous from the start. In addition to probably wanting a veteran, stern voice in the locker room, I also think they got caught up in the Golden State hype thinking some of that was going to transfer to them. Golden State has the players to where they don't really need a coach anymore and the Kings roster obviously does not.
I also agree that Harrison Barnes should be on his way out. Keegan Murray is the future there and if the Kings want to keep inching their way to improving their roster, they should look for a move to improve by using his expiring deal. I like De'Aaron Fox but I don't think he's the fit at point guard for that team. I think he's much better being off the ball.
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 28, 2022 18:01:12 GMT -5
Anthony Davis out due to injury Russell Westbrook coming off the bench Lakers season going just as planned.
I know having a "Big 3" is the cool thing to do BUT the Lakers won their last 6 titles with a "Big 2". Kobe/Shaq. Kobe/Pau. Lebron/AD. Then flanked by solid role players. Any time the Lakers tried to go beyond 2 stars (See GP/Malone, See Nash/Howard, See Russ) it just doesn't seem to pan out. Sometimes less is more.
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Post by varsity on Oct 28, 2022 20:31:09 GMT -5
The San Antonio Spurs suddenly waived 2021 lottery pick Joshua Primo on Friday, the team announced.
"It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua," Spurs CEO RC Buford said in a statement.
Primo, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, was waived two weeks after the Spurs exercised the third-year option in his contract guaranteeing his $4.3 million salary for the 2023-24 season.
Per Chris Mannix of SI.com: Lot of scrambling among NBA executives trying to figure out why the Spurs waived Primo. "He's a talent," one exec texted. "Everyone is trying to find out what the hell happened."
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 29, 2022 8:49:13 GMT -5
Lots of people on social media are saying the Spurs FO failed, why did they just waive a young talent, especially after extending him, what a terrible draft pick if they cut him already because he sucked etc etc
Look, OBVIOUSLY Primo did something bad. Very bad. No FO, much less the Spurs, outright waives a 19 year old player they recently drafted #12 overall with multiple guaranteed years left on their rookie contract without just cause.
Primo put out a statement about "mental health issues", which just sounds like he and his agent are trying to get ahead of some very bad news coming out to light.
Domestic violence? Sexual assault? Gambling on sports?
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 29, 2022 9:14:07 GMT -5
The Magic win a game. With a PG-less lineup of Wagner, Ross, Bol, Banchero, WCJ. Don't know anyone ever saw that starting lineup happening. Bamba with 19-6 3 blocks 2 threes in 17 minutes. Absurd efficiency. Foul issues aside.
Now the Lakers are Kings remain the only winless teams. Speaking of starting lineups.....
Pat Bev, Walker, Troy Brown, Lebron, Damian Jones
We are treading into the lean Kobe years post Shaq/pre Pau with that level of talent.
In 2004, Lakers had a lineup on XMas of Atkins, Kobe, Jumaine Jones, Odom, Mihm
In 2007, Lakers had an opening day lineup of Fish, Kobe, Walton, Kwame, Turiaf
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 29, 2022 9:54:28 GMT -5
This player is averaging 23ppg and shooting 51.7% overall and 51.1% on threes and was acquired for essentially nothing this past offseason
Bogdanovic on Detroit
The Jazz were reportedly willing to send Bogdanovic, Conley, Gay, 2023 1st rd pick for Westbrook, 2027 and 2029 1st rd picks
Yes this trade would have added 2023-2024 salary with Conley + pick (costing the Lakers the chance to sign Kyrie, immersed in yet another distraction due to his character)
Yes this trade would have cost both their coveted picks (although getting a 2023 pick would blunt that on some level)
BUT in the context of not being an 0-5 atrocity with the Russ distraction, yeah this trade would have helped the Lakers
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Post by varsity on Oct 29, 2022 17:56:23 GMT -5
Look, OBVIOUSLY Primo did something bad. Very bad. No FO, much less the Spurs, outright waives a 19 year old player they recently drafted #12 overall with multiple guaranteed years left on their rookie contract without just cause. I agree but I'm perplexed to what it can be. It's has to be something harsh enough where the Spurs had to let him go but usually teams, especially with a player who is only 19 years old, would try to send the player home and support him through this. Gambling, drugs, something addiction related and I can easily see a suspension. To outright cut the kid almost scares me if the details come out what in fact triggered it. Edit: And just as I type it ESPN is saying Primo was exposing himself to multiple women. www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34904011/sources-joshua-primo-allegedly-exposed-women
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 31, 2022 11:00:18 GMT -5
There it is.
Had to be something like that.
To be honest I thought it was going to be gambling - which would have been bad not just because of him being a pro athlete but also being 19.
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Post by eddieeddie on Oct 31, 2022 15:25:31 GMT -5
Via Shams: "The NBA has taken away the 76ers‘ second round picks in 2023 and 2024 for early free agency discussions last offseason."
This was not about Harden but for PJ Tucker/Danuel House. Imagine losing picks because of Tucker and House.
I've seen people online ask what is the big deal, 2nd round picks are useless.
6 of the guys on their current roster are 2nd rd picks and 1 was undrafted.
And fwiw another 4 were drafted picks 21 to 30. Really only exceptions are Harden, Embiid, Tobias.
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