Don’t know if you’re joking but that’s deadass what his mentality is.
I remember when the Bron, Reddish, Prince, Vando, AD lineup started to fail there was an article that deadass had ham just going like: Our players (Vando/Reddish) need to be more decisive on offense and be able to play better on that end. Like what lol. He thrust two players not known for being great in offense and said they just needed to be better at it like that was the solution.
That's a huge lineup. Problem was not getting back to dloARVandoLebronAD lineup and, or one in for each .
Vando and reddish have strengths but like many lakers needs point guard mentality to get them going, and both are best on breaks
Both at the same time was a bit D greedy, and both are usually better on bigger ball handlers
But jiggering tring to get perimeter d ain't something you should bark at ham for...that was work on the thing that knocked the lakers out
bro ran a Reaves-Gabe-Dinwiddie lineup during that monster Aaron Gordon game. I know Rui was shitting bricks, but he could've just told him to use his size and focus on boxing out so any other Laker could grab the rebound rather than trying to jump with a goddamn Dunk Contest legend.
We don't have size like Minnesota, that's our problem regardless of the coach. We had tall players but really only AD played like a big. We have a team of Guards and forwards.
If you look at advanced stats only Reaves, Davis and LeBron were above average, you can't defeat the NBA champions with 3 players, even when 2 of them are top 5.
Then you add Ham coaching to the formula and you have a glimpse of how much our big 2 is great.
I don't understand how Pelinka isn't held accountable, since 2021 most of his moves are questionable. You can share the blame with your superstars, with the advisers, but when you are the VPOBO and also the GM you are the ultimate decision maker and when a top heavy team are we are, can't even make the playoffs without going through the play-in, you are not doing your job.
Did you see Gobert deny that dunker spot lob to Aaron Gordon. So satisfying lol. Plus I don’t think I’ve seen Aaron Gordon go almost dunkless in a game. Especially with those easy ass dunker spot lobs he gets.
That killed me with our team how the coach couldn’t figure shit out with Denver getting easy buckets from dunker spot.
Yep that play is why I watch playoff basketball. Must be extra difficult to stay locked in during that moment not to take the bait and make that defensive play. That’s a very smart play being stopped by a very smart player on the defensive side of the ball, hats off.
Two critical pieces even in this already obscenely small and light on big 4,5 traditional skill talent are Wood and Vando, only
Guys not named AD regularly do. Vando balanced o and D energy, and made the lakers an elite defensive team, with rebounding in 3 spot elite big guard through medium big Defense (2- 4) defensive to compensate for less than average and turn a few more steals, a laker specialty into a decisive advantage
Still believe LeBron focused on PF and 12 boards goal is a 63 win season with lots of blowouts, but he shouldn't have to Tristan Thompson or Demarcus Cousins would have been a tied series and those are easy moves for ball basics
Ownership was slow on some of the major proposed deals that look great in hindsight
No but you can defend that play. It’s about IQ sometimes. Gobert bated jokic to throw the lob and then Gobert was ready for it so he could recover. And a lot of the game Aarong Gordon got taken out of that offensive just by defender placement.
The Timberwolves are an elite defensive team. They're pretty well rounded in general and will be difficult to beat if Edwards can keep playing at this level
The roster only works with Edwards or KAT (or Naz fucking Reid) turning into a 1 man offense.
Nearly every other player on the floor is hyper optimized for defense and Edwards/KAT/Reid are no slouches themselves.
Before Ant took the step that he has this year, this Wolves roster was a .500 team
That's true for most teams. They build the offense around the star player/s. The Nuggets was littlerally a joke for years when Jokic would sit down, same with the Mavs (before they traded for Irving).
They have way better depth and roster then the 2020 lakers. We only had the best 2 players every player 3-8 the wolves are better. Thankfully top 2 matters most,
Sshh.. much of this sub still believes that AD with no jumper could still co-exist next to a big like Dwight. And/or that playing the 5 ruined his jumper, even though he was purely a 4 in 20-21. At some point you just learn to ignore them.
I cannot believe how dumb they are especially considering EVEN IN 2020 our best lineup AD ws at the 5 and only cs Denver was another big remotely useful .
Didn’t hurt that ant locked Murray up that first half and didn’t need help, allowing Conley and McDaniels to stay home on shooters.
The bigs played a huge role, but it was more than just that.
I agree. That’s why i wasn’t too annoyed at Vogel when he was here, players have to buy into defensive intensity. Caruso, Green and KCP >> I didn’t appreciate them as much as I should’ve.
Rebounds brush. Lakers had 1 guy with 8 Rebounds a game Denver had 3. Vando is boards and steals perimeter d to balance the lack of D skills and makes their turnover causing elite
Ham would’ve still called for double teams. The fact that he constantly had players double with AD showed that he had zero faith in a player’s on-ball defense.
Christian Wood was one of the best big men in last years FA class and we got him for a min. That is a good move idk how you guys can re write history and act like it sucked just cause Wood couldn’t stay healthy and didn’t have a consistent role due to Ham.
Wood isn't a defender though, he plays more like a stretch four than as a legit center. Rebounding is where he had the greatest potential to help because he is too light to guard Jokic and too slow for Gordon
Wood is a pf and don’t play defense we clearly needed more than 3 bigs on our team and wood was injured so we basically had 2 pfs playing center the whole year (ad/hayes)
I hope CWood, DLo, and Max will have clearer defined roles next season. DLo and AR at times still defer to each other which got me thinking oops they don't really know who's the true third option here. Either one of them will work tbh. And I think they cover for each other esp on nights when AD/Bron ain't available. I still drool over their flawless orchestration vs Boston.
AR took care of scoring while DLo kept on setting him up perfectly. They just need to assert themselves on the court more. Esp. DLo because when he realized that he needed to be aggressive, that's when he showed his potential as the true 3rd star.
He went back to defer-ball in the playoffs partly because Bron always has the ball in the postseason and I understand it's by design as well.
Which college big could he have drafted to stop Nikola Jokic, an MVP level NBA player, who would've also been able to survive the 2-man game with Jamal Murray?
What the fuck are people even writing? Rookie AD wouldn't have been able to do that.
G league means nothing. Playing well in the g league is like saying mac mclung should have a roster spot and play valuable mins on a team because he won mvp. Obviously he shouldn’t play any meaningful minutes and probably should be at the end of the bench if at all
Mclungs problem is twofold: defense, and role. He's an on ball scorer without good defense. Which star or backup PG, exactly, is he a better scorer than while also bringing comparable defense?
If JHS can be useful offensively, then all he needs is to develop his defensive tools. The G league can show offense, but defense and a role are the real key.
Love Edey, but he is bbq chicken on the perimeter. Murray would hunt the switch and torch his ass. Really feel for him, if he was born 10 years earlier he’s a top 3 pick.
I don't know if you guys have looked around, but almost all the teams are looking for size right now. We have Wood who was the Mavs starting center last year. Not Pelinka's fault that he was injured for the entire season. I'm also not saying Wood was the key, but Pelinka was able to get a back-up big.
We all know size helps you beat Denver, it's just that size is very scarce right now.
You beat everybody with size and if they try small ball we have the advantage of playing AD at the 5. Why we went away from that formula was mind boggling.
Oh really? Like in 2020? You mean the time when our best lineup was AD at 5 and we only got non negatuve value from bigs vs Denver ? The finals when we put Ad at 5 in game 6 and immediately destroyed Miami ? Or rockets ? Or blazers where AD at 5 was best ? 3/4 series AD at 5 was best and it had by far our best rating . If Vogel did that more we’d of won even faster
Maybe we need to accept that both of these teams are better than us. They were constructed better and they drafted much better than us if we’re being honest. Wasn’t it the same GM that put together both teams? I think in the current NBA you really need to be flawless if you want to build a dynasty. Drafts are very important, we gotta be able to develop our guys. That’s why I’m disappointed about how this season went by without giving more time to Max and JHS wasn’t able to show any upside even though his time was limited.
Agreed if we draft these guys and don’t play them, it means our guard positions need backups. A lot of money was given to guards but we never got a solid backup defensive PF/C
You had me until the draft better. Thats the one thing that the Lakers have actually done really well. They just traded away a lot of those players or have been stuck at the end of the draft the last few years. They were never in a position to draft an Edwards or a KAT.
Problem is Pelinka would have to go after a big who can space the floor and is athletic enough to beat jokic down the floor. Nuggets would run in transition every time AD would shoot at the rim or go for an offensive rebound due to AD usually being late getting back. Can’t have a valanciunas/vucevic type along with AD since they would get killed in transition/semi transition.
Another problem is you need a big who can play with AD and without, since in the playoffs AD is going to play a lot of minutes. Don’t want to spend 10-20 on a big who is only going to get 5-15 minutes a game. That would be a waste of resources.
A rim runner like Hayes, but better, might be ok alongside AD. The only problem is AD has lost his jumper that he used to have and the defense sags off him to pack the paint. Another athletic rim running big might be ok if they get a coach who runs some of the warriors/kings split actions or some kind of off ball screens/off ball actions on the weak side. They would need to run actions with the other big or AD on the weak side when one of them is involved in the play so their defender would have to account for whatever action they are running. The other big wouldn’t just be able to sit in the dunker since that would mean there’s 2 guys around the paint at all times making driving lanes/passing lanes congested. Could maybe have the big out closer to the corner three and run some DHO’s when his defender is in the paint and they get the kick out, but they don’t really have anyone except reaves who can shoot on the move.
AD isn’t the best passer so I’m not sure how the pairing would work with an athletic big who can’t space the floor now that AD’s jumper is pretty much nonexistent. Gordon sitting in the dunker works due to jokic being a good passer and jokic being a threat outside of the paint.
Someone like Wendell Carter jr would be a good fit but I doubt the magic would get rid of him. Olynyk probably would be ok even though he’s not a center. Can’t think of many bigs in the league with an athletic 3pt shooting skillset. Maybe filipowski or ware in the draft but who knows if they’d actually be able to contribute next year.
Yeah exactly. Our best choice is to get a big strong athlete at the wing who can shoot that’s much easier then chasing a wendall carter who’s also injury prone af.
everyone talking about guarding Jokic but he's still killing it. The big thing no one is talking about is they have a bunch of players to guard Murray in Ant, Walker, Daniel they are shutting his ass down. The wolves is an all around elite defense team that can slow Jokic and murray
If you want to pair AD with a big and not kill your offense, you need a shooting big. There are like 10 starter-caliber shooting bigs in the league, ranging from superstars to untouchable young players to ok guys.
Jokic, Embiid, JJJ, Turner, Lopez, Chet, Wemby, Porzingis, Vucevic, KAT, Reid. That's pretty much the list. I included Vucevic in there because he's literally the only one who is a realistic target for the Lakers, and I don't know if he solves a whole lot for you.
I'm still kinda interested in Vuc as a bad contract that lowers the price for getting Caruso if you take it on. And then he's a flex starter/bench big.
yeah that's basically the construction. Idk, if I'm the Bulls getting off the Vuc deal, taking back a couple decent players, and getting a FRP out of it sounds like a good deal to me for Caruso.
Vuc is one of the worst bigs and players in the league. He also can’t really shoot and half those guys you listed aren’t tightly guarded . Reality is Ad us a 5 and we need better fuckinh guards and wings AND ATHLETES. AD is bigger stronger n slower and can’t shoot moving him from 5 woukd be a disaster regardless
AD needs to be the shooting big. No way this man just is flat out incapable of shooting. I get the injuries and added size has affected him but it’s not like he doesn’t have the form or the touch. He needs to work on that shit non stop if he really wants to play his natural position like he claims.
yeah no excuses for AD if Lopez and Gasol developed a consistent 3 point shots later in their careers. If he doesn’t soon enough he’ll be phased out of the league once his athleticism goes. AD is already 31, going 32 next season.
It’s weird to me because before the season Ham even said he needs AD shooting 6 threes a game before the season and literally I don’t think he even attempted 6 in any game. Lol
What unathletic guards are you talking about? Clarkson lonzo Caruso hart talen Christie hood are all above average or very athletic.
Only unathletic guards are dlo who was a consensus top 3 pick so they couldn’t pass him and reaves who is probably average athletic
AD can handle Jokic, let’s look at the rest of the lineup:
- LeBron on Gordon or MPJ (good enough)
- Rui on MPJ or Gordon (not good, Rui is a bad defender even if an SF)
- DLo and Reaves on KCP and Murray (fine)
Let’s look at the available guys off the bench:
- Forwards: Prince, Hayes
- Everyone else (guards): Dinwiddie, Vincent
At some point, there’s basically no choice but to do a 3 guard lineup. Can at least keep that when Denver has their bench out. Overall the team is undersized and it causes breakdowns in the second half.
Jokic dominates in the paint, especially outside the restricted area. Gobert, KAT, Reid; this team was basically built to take down the nuggets. Only team I see beating them is Boston
Said it before the series man denver has a legit 4 body's they can throw at jokic and give him different looks and be somewhat effective. Gobert, Towns, Naz Reid, and McDaniels.. we had ad then fucking Rui that's not gonna work not even one bit
I freaking knew it. Everybody was shitting on the Wolves for the Gobert trade. I followed the Wolves because I root for DLo. I knew back then that those mfs were preparing for Denver while everyone else hit them with the question mark. That move is paying off now
Kinda weird to say this . Ant is size ? No you beat Denver by having enough size to not get taken advantage of AND a rim attacking pressuring guard with a jumper . The guard part is what we lack more then the size part . People just watch any drop 40 n are crediting gobert lol . Like jokic just missed a lot of shots like he did in g5 vs us . He won’t normally miss those looks. You need perimeter players who can step up. We need better 1/2/3 around Bron and AD.
Ant was the main reason they won and bozos repeat the size thing cos they want to put AD out of position . AD is a C bozos needs to stop . We can get a spscing big or a better bigger athlete at the 3 but we shouldn’t commit lots of resources there when we need better guards and wings more. That’s why they won.
Also reason Pelinka needs to be fired . Rui salary this year : 17m despite never showing anything in 4 years in Washington . Naz Reid a far superior version of Rui in every way -12.9m salary this year on a new extension.
People need to get a fucking grip untill this incompetent moron is fired into the sun we will never make smart moves around the margin. Who was he competing with to pay Rui and extend vando ? Vandi earns the same and Gabe as Reid I want to puke. Starting to think welll never win again with rob in charge because he constantly loses on the margins . We should try to get a star because he’s too incompetent to make the great small moves. I’m sure that bum paid Rui off one playoff run where he was benched vs gsw and awful g4 in Denver .
Jokic was unstoppable, other players in Denver were the issue. AD did a better job on Jokic. MPJ is what ruined our momentum each time and of course Murray with the clutch shots
Lakers are a small team, no one over 6'10 in regular rotation and only 1 that averages 8 rebounds a game, ever in career. Only 4.5 defensive minded people on roster, and only 1.5 as veteran starter.
Denver beat the lakers on the boards. Lakers won the boards won the game.. Lost the boards lost the games
none of this matters if you dont hit your shots … reid hit his shots and went aggressive on the offensive rebounds, conley hit shots, everyone hitting shots
Looking at the Timbs roster makes me so fucking mad. How do they have Gobert playing next to KAT and we having fucking AD playing with bums. Never should’ve let the twin go
A lot of people here claim to hate Darvin Ham but unironically agree with his stupid small ball philosophies. You don’t need to be a physics major to realize you probably want some size on your team if you’re playing BASKETBALL.
Can we maybe let the series play out another game or two before drawing conclusions? When you’re at home, your best player (who also happens to be a newly emerged supernova talent) shoots amazingly and your entire supporting casts shoots over 50% of course you’ll win.
We all knew this after 2020. Why couldn't we sign Dwight at a vet min? I have to believe he's more capable than Hayes or Wood... why didn't ham play Vanderbilt in game 5? Man it's rough being a Laker fan
They also have two stars that were drafted, one of them a big man that can shoot well from range.
Success is hard to come by without your own drafted players. Look at the list of champions over the last 20, 30 years.
lakers defense was fine. they just couldn't finish and get rebounds, so yes size matters. if lakers rebounded better, they would have won those games.
rebounding is HUGE, as always.
Pockets: agree to disagree.
Gotta love how pockets said the team needs rebound better and then proceeded to play dlo dinwiddie game lineups
Pockets expects DLo and Dinwiddie to play harder so they get all the rebounds. It’s their fault if they can’t rebound like Jokic.
Don’t know if you’re joking but that’s deadass what his mentality is. I remember when the Bron, Reddish, Prince, Vando, AD lineup started to fail there was an article that deadass had ham just going like: Our players (Vando/Reddish) need to be more decisive on offense and be able to play better on that end. Like what lol. He thrust two players not known for being great in offense and said they just needed to be better at it like that was the solution.
I am definitely being funny. And I agree with you, it is exactly the way that he thinks.
they just needed to have more of that next play mentality
That's a huge lineup. Problem was not getting back to dloARVandoLebronAD lineup and, or one in for each . Vando and reddish have strengths but like many lakers needs point guard mentality to get them going, and both are best on breaks Both at the same time was a bit D greedy, and both are usually better on bigger ball handlers But jiggering tring to get perimeter d ain't something you should bark at ham for...that was work on the thing that knocked the lakers out
bro ran a Reaves-Gabe-Dinwiddie lineup during that monster Aaron Gordon game. I know Rui was shitting bricks, but he could've just told him to use his size and focus on boxing out so any other Laker could grab the rebound rather than trying to jump with a goddamn Dunk Contest legend.
100% agree, but let’s not forget the FO that failed to improve our size after the same thing happened last year.
Expect them to understand needing tall guys for b ball?. You leftist utopian with un real expectations./s
“Pockets” is so flippin hilarious
Rui on Jokic: That didn’t work Rui is too small Next game: Rui on Jokic
We just had to meet force with force, on every possession
Pockets can’t do roster construction
We don't have size like Minnesota, that's our problem regardless of the coach. We had tall players but really only AD played like a big. We have a team of Guards and forwards.
If you look at advanced stats only Reaves, Davis and LeBron were above average, you can't defeat the NBA champions with 3 players, even when 2 of them are top 5. Then you add Ham coaching to the formula and you have a glimpse of how much our big 2 is great. I don't understand how Pelinka isn't held accountable, since 2021 most of his moves are questionable. You can share the blame with your superstars, with the advisers, but when you are the VPOBO and also the GM you are the ultimate decision maker and when a top heavy team are we are, can't even make the playoffs without going through the play-in, you are not doing your job.
Bro you acting like it's a simple task to find a Naz Reid come on man..
You are acting like Pelinka hasn't being the GM for years.
Did somebody say 3 guard lineups
Instructions unclear Starts 3 guards last years game 1 & plays/practices 3-4 guard lineups that barely work multiple times this full regular season
Did you see Gobert deny that dunker spot lob to Aaron Gordon. So satisfying lol. Plus I don’t think I’ve seen Aaron Gordon go almost dunkless in a game. Especially with those easy ass dunker spot lobs he gets. That killed me with our team how the coach couldn’t figure shit out with Denver getting easy buckets from dunker spot.
Yep that play is why I watch playoff basketball. Must be extra difficult to stay locked in during that moment not to take the bait and make that defensive play. That’s a very smart play being stopped by a very smart player on the defensive side of the ball, hats off.
I don’t think the best coaches could figure out how to cover Denver—the Laker roster doesn’t have the personnel to do it
Two critical pieces even in this already obscenely small and light on big 4,5 traditional skill talent are Wood and Vando, only Guys not named AD regularly do. Vando balanced o and D energy, and made the lakers an elite defensive team, with rebounding in 3 spot elite big guard through medium big Defense (2- 4) defensive to compensate for less than average and turn a few more steals, a laker specialty into a decisive advantage Still believe LeBron focused on PF and 12 boards goal is a 63 win season with lots of blowouts, but he shouldn't have to Tristan Thompson or Demarcus Cousins would have been a tied series and those are easy moves for ball basics Ownership was slow on some of the major proposed deals that look great in hindsight
You mean Ham suppose to figure out how to manifest a Gobert out of our current roster? Is that what you are saying?
And a Mike Conley. And an 18 year younger LeBron.
No but you can defend that play. It’s about IQ sometimes. Gobert bated jokic to throw the lob and then Gobert was ready for it so he could recover. And a lot of the game Aarong Gordon got taken out of that offensive just by defender placement.
 Me seeing Gobert deny that lob
AD denied 3 or 4 of the same lobs as well. They run that play so often that any center with length has the opportunity to deny it.
The Timberwolves are an elite defensive team. They're pretty well rounded in general and will be difficult to beat if Edwards can keep playing at this level
The roster only works with Edwards or KAT (or Naz fucking Reid) turning into a 1 man offense. Nearly every other player on the floor is hyper optimized for defense and Edwards/KAT/Reid are no slouches themselves. Before Ant took the step that he has this year, this Wolves roster was a .500 team
That's true for most teams. They build the offense around the star player/s. The Nuggets was littlerally a joke for years when Jokic would sit down, same with the Mavs (before they traded for Irving).
You beat Denver with the #1 defense in the NBA and a good team with good players. I’ll explain later.
Sounds like the 2020 Lakers.
frs they can guard 1-5 unlike the Lakers we are ass at every position except the 5 on D
They have way better depth and roster then the 2020 lakers. We only had the best 2 players every player 3-8 the wolves are better. Thankfully top 2 matters most,
Bro what 2020 Lakers are way better than this wolves squad lol LBJ Green KCP AD Dwight Kuz Javale Caruso Rondo
It's possible OP is suggesting adding another skilled big next to AD, just might be that.
You need a competent big that also shoots the 3. Those don’t come cheap
Dwight was one of the highest percentage three point shooters! Something like 50% on...well let's not get mired down in the details.
Sshh.. much of this sub still believes that AD with no jumper could still co-exist next to a big like Dwight. And/or that playing the 5 ruined his jumper, even though he was purely a 4 in 20-21. At some point you just learn to ignore them.
I cannot believe how dumb they are especially considering EVEN IN 2020 our best lineup AD ws at the 5 and only cs Denver was another big remotely useful .
I’m confused about good teams having good players. Is there a easier way to look at at it? Explain it to me like I’m 29
Don’t overthink it, you might hurt yourself.
I did hurt myself and need help
You don't see how it's 100% ham's fault that some of our players are shit?
Didn’t hurt that ant locked Murray up that first half and didn’t need help, allowing Conley and McDaniels to stay home on shooters. The bigs played a huge role, but it was more than just that.
I agree. That’s why i wasn’t too annoyed at Vogel when he was here, players have to buy into defensive intensity. Caruso, Green and KCP >> I didn’t appreciate them as much as I should’ve.
Murray was getting locked up by Reaves. If Lakers had Vando Murray probably doesn't make those game winners and the series is way different.
Vando can’t shoot and destroys the offencd and let’s jokic rest on offence
McDaniels was 0-7 last night with 0 points so not all that from Vando
Rebounds brush. Lakers had 1 guy with 8 Rebounds a game Denver had 3. Vando is boards and steals perimeter d to balance the lack of D skills and makes their turnover causing elite
Ham would’ve still called for double teams. The fact that he constantly had players double with AD showed that he had zero faith in a player’s on-ball defense.
Pelinka out here drafting guards and using vet mins on backup bigs.
Christian Wood was one of the best big men in last years FA class and we got him for a min. That is a good move idk how you guys can re write history and act like it sucked just cause Wood couldn’t stay healthy and didn’t have a consistent role due to Ham.
Wood isn't a defender though, he plays more like a stretch four than as a legit center. Rebounding is where he had the greatest potential to help because he is too light to guard Jokic and too slow for Gordon
What does this have to do with anything I typed out
We could have used him like Reid though. We just needed another defensive big like Turner
Wood is a pf and don’t play defense we clearly needed more than 3 bigs on our team and wood was injured so we basically had 2 pfs playing center the whole year (ad/hayes)
I hope CWood, DLo, and Max will have clearer defined roles next season. DLo and AR at times still defer to each other which got me thinking oops they don't really know who's the true third option here. Either one of them will work tbh. And I think they cover for each other esp on nights when AD/Bron ain't available. I still drool over their flawless orchestration vs Boston. AR took care of scoring while DLo kept on setting him up perfectly. They just need to assert themselves on the court more. Esp. DLo because when he realized that he needed to be aggressive, that's when he showed his potential as the true 3rd star. He went back to defer-ball in the playoffs partly because Bron always has the ball in the postseason and I understand it's by design as well.
You’re probably going to be downvoted for stating anything positive about DLo but I agree with all this and noticed the same things
Haha it's fine I'm just speaking from what I've observed
Wood is trash
Which college big could he have drafted to stop Nikola Jokic, an MVP level NBA player, who would've also been able to survive the 2-man game with Jamal Murray? What the fuck are people even writing? Rookie AD wouldn't have been able to do that.
Take a flier on Adam Bona this year , he can’t stop Jokic but his last name rhymes with boner
Castleton lol
[удалено]
He played well in the G League this year. He's just raw.
G league means nothing. Playing well in the g league is like saying mac mclung should have a roster spot and play valuable mins on a team because he won mvp. Obviously he shouldn’t play any meaningful minutes and probably should be at the end of the bench if at all
Mclungs problem is twofold: defense, and role. He's an on ball scorer without good defense. Which star or backup PG, exactly, is he a better scorer than while also bringing comparable defense? If JHS can be useful offensively, then all he needs is to develop his defensive tools. The G league can show offense, but defense and a role are the real key.
The hell does a competitive team need a project for?
Coulda had Brandon, Jamie, Livley, Whitmore. Much better fits.
Why can’t we draft Edey I know the guy isn’t the best offensively but he’s still 7’4/300?
The concern isn’t offense tho. It’s whether or not he can translate defensively.
Love Edey, but he is bbq chicken on the perimeter. Murray would hunt the switch and torch his ass. Really feel for him, if he was born 10 years earlier he’s a top 3 pick.
You think you could draft a back up big better than vet mins big just like that? Lol
I don't know if you guys have looked around, but almost all the teams are looking for size right now. We have Wood who was the Mavs starting center last year. Not Pelinka's fault that he was injured for the entire season. I'm also not saying Wood was the key, but Pelinka was able to get a back-up big. We all know size helps you beat Denver, it's just that size is very scarce right now.
Midget or too skinny backup bigs.
It’s not just size. Their big guys can shoot 3s as well. You can’t just blindly go for size and give up shooting power
We are just gonna ignore ant going full mj in the 4th whe being an elite defender the entire game?
You beat everybody with size and if they try small ball we have the advantage of playing AD at the 5. Why we went away from that formula was mind boggling.
Oh really? Like in 2020? You mean the time when our best lineup was AD at 5 and we only got non negatuve value from bigs vs Denver ? The finals when we put Ad at 5 in game 6 and immediately destroyed Miami ? Or rockets ? Or blazers where AD at 5 was best ? 3/4 series AD at 5 was best and it had by far our best rating . If Vogel did that more we’d of won even faster
Pockets and his guards
No it was the dumb Westbrook trade that forced AD to the 5 fulltime
Maybe we need to accept that both of these teams are better than us. They were constructed better and they drafted much better than us if we’re being honest. Wasn’t it the same GM that put together both teams? I think in the current NBA you really need to be flawless if you want to build a dynasty. Drafts are very important, we gotta be able to develop our guys. That’s why I’m disappointed about how this season went by without giving more time to Max and JHS wasn’t able to show any upside even though his time was limited.
Agreed if we draft these guys and don’t play them, it means our guard positions need backups. A lot of money was given to guards but we never got a solid backup defensive PF/C
You had me until the draft better. Thats the one thing that the Lakers have actually done really well. They just traded away a lot of those players or have been stuck at the end of the draft the last few years. They were never in a position to draft an Edwards or a KAT.
Problem is Pelinka would have to go after a big who can space the floor and is athletic enough to beat jokic down the floor. Nuggets would run in transition every time AD would shoot at the rim or go for an offensive rebound due to AD usually being late getting back. Can’t have a valanciunas/vucevic type along with AD since they would get killed in transition/semi transition. Another problem is you need a big who can play with AD and without, since in the playoffs AD is going to play a lot of minutes. Don’t want to spend 10-20 on a big who is only going to get 5-15 minutes a game. That would be a waste of resources. A rim runner like Hayes, but better, might be ok alongside AD. The only problem is AD has lost his jumper that he used to have and the defense sags off him to pack the paint. Another athletic rim running big might be ok if they get a coach who runs some of the warriors/kings split actions or some kind of off ball screens/off ball actions on the weak side. They would need to run actions with the other big or AD on the weak side when one of them is involved in the play so their defender would have to account for whatever action they are running. The other big wouldn’t just be able to sit in the dunker since that would mean there’s 2 guys around the paint at all times making driving lanes/passing lanes congested. Could maybe have the big out closer to the corner three and run some DHO’s when his defender is in the paint and they get the kick out, but they don’t really have anyone except reaves who can shoot on the move. AD isn’t the best passer so I’m not sure how the pairing would work with an athletic big who can’t space the floor now that AD’s jumper is pretty much nonexistent. Gordon sitting in the dunker works due to jokic being a good passer and jokic being a threat outside of the paint. Someone like Wendell Carter jr would be a good fit but I doubt the magic would get rid of him. Olynyk probably would be ok even though he’s not a center. Can’t think of many bigs in the league with an athletic 3pt shooting skillset. Maybe filipowski or ware in the draft but who knows if they’d actually be able to contribute next year.
Yeah exactly. Our best choice is to get a big strong athlete at the wing who can shoot that’s much easier then chasing a wendall carter who’s also injury prone af.
everyone talking about guarding Jokic but he's still killing it. The big thing no one is talking about is they have a bunch of players to guard Murray in Ant, Walker, Daniel they are shutting his ass down. The wolves is an all around elite defense team that can slow Jokic and murray
If Denver loses, with the teams coming up, Denver may not be the issue. They got their ring
If you want to pair AD with a big and not kill your offense, you need a shooting big. There are like 10 starter-caliber shooting bigs in the league, ranging from superstars to untouchable young players to ok guys. Jokic, Embiid, JJJ, Turner, Lopez, Chet, Wemby, Porzingis, Vucevic, KAT, Reid. That's pretty much the list. I included Vucevic in there because he's literally the only one who is a realistic target for the Lakers, and I don't know if he solves a whole lot for you. I'm still kinda interested in Vuc as a bad contract that lowers the price for getting Caruso if you take it on. And then he's a flex starter/bench big.
Rui and Gabe plus picks for Caruso n Vuc? No way the bulls accept but what u think?
yeah that's basically the construction. Idk, if I'm the Bulls getting off the Vuc deal, taking back a couple decent players, and getting a FRP out of it sounds like a good deal to me for Caruso.
Vuc is a massive negatuve if they trade for him I’m done with this team
What’s wrong w him? Damn just realized he’s 33 ☹️
Vuc is one of the worst bigs and players in the league. He also can’t really shoot and half those guys you listed aren’t tightly guarded . Reality is Ad us a 5 and we need better fuckinh guards and wings AND ATHLETES. AD is bigger stronger n slower and can’t shoot moving him from 5 woukd be a disaster regardless
AD needs to be the shooting big. No way this man just is flat out incapable of shooting. I get the injuries and added size has affected him but it’s not like he doesn’t have the form or the touch. He needs to work on that shit non stop if he really wants to play his natural position like he claims.
yeah no excuses for AD if Lopez and Gasol developed a consistent 3 point shots later in their careers. If he doesn’t soon enough he’ll be phased out of the league once his athleticism goes. AD is already 31, going 32 next season.
It’s weird to me because before the season Ham even said he needs AD shooting 6 threes a game before the season and literally I don’t think he even attempted 6 in any game. Lol
Tired of Lakers drafting unathletic guards. We need ATHLETES
We had Josh Hart and Caruso
Caruso
What unathletic guards are you talking about? Clarkson lonzo Caruso hart talen Christie hood are all above average or very athletic. Only unathletic guards are dlo who was a consensus top 3 pick so they couldn’t pass him and reaves who is probably average athletic
As we saw in 2020 in the bubble.
we just gonna pretend Ant aint one of them?
We might figure out how to be Denver but at this rate how will we beat Ant?
Pretty much
You win basketball with size lol
Yeah, the lakers had Dwight Howard and AD in their championship run....
Clog the paint! Jeanie and rob take notes
You can't teach height! You can grab free agent guards that fit your style of offense.
AD can handle Jokic, let’s look at the rest of the lineup: - LeBron on Gordon or MPJ (good enough) - Rui on MPJ or Gordon (not good, Rui is a bad defender even if an SF) - DLo and Reaves on KCP and Murray (fine) Let’s look at the available guys off the bench: - Forwards: Prince, Hayes - Everyone else (guards): Dinwiddie, Vincent At some point, there’s basically no choice but to do a 3 guard lineup. Can at least keep that when Denver has their bench out. Overall the team is undersized and it causes breakdowns in the second half.
Tell that to Rob fuckin Pelinka who fails to sign a good starting and backup 5 every offseason.
Try and trade for Walker Kessler and attempt to sign Miles Bridges and Caleb Martin. Thoughts?
No assets for that
Jokic dominates in the paint, especially outside the restricted area. Gobert, KAT, Reid; this team was basically built to take down the nuggets. Only team I see beating them is Boston
Their were idiots on this thread who thought Rui hamichura can guard jokic 🤣
I remember when we had size and KCP. We won a chip and beat Denver in the process
STACK THE BIGS 📢📢📢📢
Wow. That's news to Rob. Good lord we beat them with size and defense last time. Rob fumbled post-chip
But guards are important!
Said it before the series man denver has a legit 4 body's they can throw at jokic and give him different looks and be somewhat effective. Gobert, Towns, Naz Reid, and McDaniels.. we had ad then fucking Rui that's not gonna work not even one bit
Denver is losing this series. Timberwolves hounded and came back everytime. What a game. Anthony Edwards is going to be a killer this series.
Pause
well also having Anthony Edwards on your team
Lakers just need one Howard or McGee type and they got ~~Hayes~~ nothing.
Pockets is playing Schroder MUGSEY BOGUES EARL BOYKINS CAM REDDISH AND TAUREN PRINCE AGAINST THE NUGGETS LOL
It’s almost like we had the recipe in 2020
Wait so you’re telling me a 6’8 guy guarding a 7 foot dude won’t work??
I mean… if we shot the 3 ball better and Rui made layups we’d have swept them tbh
Brooks? As in Brook Lopez or Villain Brooks?
I refuse to believe that hayes is better than the ghost of dwight howard, we could have signed him purely against denver or Min
I freaking knew it. Everybody was shitting on the Wolves for the Gobert trade. I followed the Wolves because I root for DLo. I knew back then that those mfs were preparing for Denver while everyone else hit them with the question mark. That move is paying off now
Kinda weird to say this . Ant is size ? No you beat Denver by having enough size to not get taken advantage of AND a rim attacking pressuring guard with a jumper . The guard part is what we lack more then the size part . People just watch any drop 40 n are crediting gobert lol . Like jokic just missed a lot of shots like he did in g5 vs us . He won’t normally miss those looks. You need perimeter players who can step up. We need better 1/2/3 around Bron and AD.
Why'd you think 2020 was so successful? They had Dwight and javale
Ant was the main reason they won and bozos repeat the size thing cos they want to put AD out of position . AD is a C bozos needs to stop . We can get a spscing big or a better bigger athlete at the 3 but we shouldn’t commit lots of resources there when we need better guards and wings more. That’s why they won. Also reason Pelinka needs to be fired . Rui salary this year : 17m despite never showing anything in 4 years in Washington . Naz Reid a far superior version of Rui in every way -12.9m salary this year on a new extension. People need to get a fucking grip untill this incompetent moron is fired into the sun we will never make smart moves around the margin. Who was he competing with to pay Rui and extend vando ? Vandi earns the same and Gabe as Reid I want to puke. Starting to think welll never win again with rob in charge because he constantly loses on the margins . We should try to get a star because he’s too incompetent to make the great small moves. I’m sure that bum paid Rui off one playoff run where he was benched vs gsw and awful g4 in Denver .
Jokic was unstoppable, other players in Denver were the issue. AD did a better job on Jokic. MPJ is what ruined our momentum each time and of course Murray with the clutch shots
You beat Denver with Dwight Howard.
We’ve known this since the Bubble, now can somebody tell Rob Pelinka? Because he forgot
Draft Zach Edey
Javale and Dwight Combo worked in 2020.
Lakers are a small team, no one over 6'10 in regular rotation and only 1 that averages 8 rebounds a game, ever in career. Only 4.5 defensive minded people on roster, and only 1.5 as veteran starter. Denver beat the lakers on the boards. Lakers won the boards won the game.. Lost the boards lost the games
none of this matters if you dont hit your shots … reid hit his shots and went aggressive on the offensive rebounds, conley hit shots, everyone hitting shots
Looking at the Timbs roster makes me so fucking mad. How do they have Gobert playing next to KAT and we having fucking AD playing with bums. Never should’ve let the twin go
A lot of people here claim to hate Darvin Ham but unironically agree with his stupid small ball philosophies. You don’t need to be a physics major to realize you probably want some size on your team if you’re playing BASKETBALL.
Can we maybe let the series play out another game or two before drawing conclusions? When you’re at home, your best player (who also happens to be a newly emerged supernova talent) shoots amazingly and your entire supporting casts shoots over 50% of course you’ll win.
Brooks who? Dillon?
We all knew this after 2020. Why couldn't we sign Dwight at a vet min? I have to believe he's more capable than Hayes or Wood... why didn't ham play Vanderbilt in game 5? Man it's rough being a Laker fan
They also have two stars that were drafted, one of them a big man that can shoot well from range. Success is hard to come by without your own drafted players. Look at the list of champions over the last 20, 30 years.
lakers defense was fine. they just couldn't finish and get rebounds, so yes size matters. if lakers rebounded better, they would have won those games. rebounding is HUGE, as always.
Pelinka says "derp sign another undersized guard with the MLE"
KAT. NAZ REID. RUDY GOBERT. That's the formula to beat nuggets. Just like 2020 Lakers
Not to mention when KAT rested or was in foul trouble, Reid stepped up just fine, so they always had two bigs AG was completely neutralized
After watching how Mcdaniels affected Murray, Ham is a idiot not putting Vando on Murray guarantee he doesn’t have 2 game winners.
He could have put Vando out there but he'd be in street clothes.