LAKERHOLICS BLOG

The guys from the Lakers Fast Break return for some NBA Observation as they share thoughts on the recent big-money extensions for Miami coach Erik Spoelstra and the Clipper’s Kawhi Leonard. Does this mean the Lakers will be opening up their wallet a little more as well? Plus after Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic’s huge rant after the Lakers game because of the fourth-quarter free throw disparity, we ponder if Darvin Ham will ever show that kind of energy if he remains as the guys on the sidelines for LA. We’re back talking some big $$$, and wondering if the Lakers are ready to go on a spending spree? Find out our thoughts on the latest Lakers Fast Break podcast!

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Jamie Sweet
22 hours, 50 minutes ago

1) Gotta bench Hayes. Been a huge advocate all season but the playoffs are about matchups. We’re losing Hayes’ minutes and putting ourselves in a 1st quarter hole. That needs to get switched up.
- Jamie Sweet
  22 hours, 48 minutes ago
  
  2) I’m not sure a plodding half court offense every time down is the answer. We haven’t been running a hyper efficient offense and slowing it down forces Luka, LeBron and Reaves to rise to the challenge collectively which has proved elusive.
  - Jamie Sweet
    22 hours, 48 minutes ago
    
    3) Yes.
    - Jamie Sweet
      22 hours, 45 minutes ago
      
      4) That was dumb no matter how it ended. That’s a Thibbs move which always reek of desperation. Easiest path to injuring a key player is not resting them. Need to give Vando the minutes Hayes has and roll the dice.
      - Jamie Sweet
        22 hours, 40 minutes ago
        
        5) Out of 80 shots we took 47 threes and made a whopping 16. Long misses led to as many leak out fast breaks as turnovers did. This is not the answer. LeBron got to the line, Luka could have gotten there more but they’re settling for lazy three pointers. Quality shot? Great, take it. But work it inside, a few passes and 63 dribbles around the perimeter isn’t an offense. Take the challenge, take it to the rack. Need a smarter offense not a lazier/more predictable one.
      - Jamie Sweet
        22 hours, 39 minutes ago
        
        My bad, we made 19. Still, with the “shooters” we have 47 is too many.
Jamie Sweet
22 hours, 33 minutes ago

We need to be better on the glass. Not one Laker is averaging double digit rebounds.

We need more movement, our assists are way down. You can only tip your cap so much until you look like the bell hop. Stop playing like a hotel employee waiting for the moment to come to you. There’s a reason the phrase “embrace the moment” exists and it’s not for being passive.

I don’t know if more of Vincent , Goodwin or Vando is the answer but they had big roles in the regular season wins over Minny. We’re not winning with them on the bench. Might be time to try something else…
LakerTom
22 hours, 1 minute ago

Problem is Luka and LeBron can’t do it all.

The Wolves’ secondary stars (McDaniels & Randle) and role players (Reid, DiVincenzo, Gobert, & NAW) have outplayed our secondary stars (Reaves & Rui) and role players (DFS, Gabe, Hayes, & Vando).

Had we won, JJ’s playing just 5 guys would have been celebrated. As was, we don’t play until Wednesday. Just have our backs against the wall. Our chance to win this year is still alive though and we do have LeBron and two more games at home.

Lack of a center and wasted roster spots on players with poor seasons exercising their player options just killed our depth. We’ll be still further from winning a championship next season. This summer Rob has to solve the center problem

Some things that will become discussion topics will be:

1. Reaves to the bench as 6th man to open up starting spot for lockdown point of attack defender who can also shoot the three.

2. Trading for a modern center who can both stretch the floor and be a lob threat on offense and protect the rim and guard all three levels on defense.

3. Hachimua and Vanderbilt and our 2031 FRP and pick swaps will be traded.

4. LeBron will take less to open cap space to use full NT MLE.

5. Must re-sign Luka and DFS and Hayes as backup center.
LakerTom
10 hours, 45 minutes ago

Basketball Gods Have Left Lakers With Last Path To Championship The basketball gods have not yet given up on the Los Angeles Lakers. They’ve just raised the bar on the kind of heroics that are going to be required for the Lakers to pull off a miraculous championship run.… pic.twitter.com/T08eXQPg3Z— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 29, 2025
LakerTom
10 hours, 43 minutes ago

Basketball Gods Have Left Lakers With Last Path To Championship Right now, the Lakers’ only path to this year’s championship is to pull off a rare 1–3 comeback by beating the Timberwolves 3 straight playoff games, something that’s only been done 13 times and only once by the… pic.twitter.com/ArivfxwLe6— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 29, 2025
LakerTom
8 hours, 22 minutes ago

The Lakers should be able to win an elimination game at home with LeBron James and Luka Doncic. If they pull that off, the real challenge is Game 6 in Minnesota but if they manage to force a Game 7, I can’t see them losing on their home court. #LakeShow— Ryan Rueda (@iDude14) April 29, 2025
LakerTom
8 hours, 20 minutes ago

Luka Doncic looking forward to the challenge of overcoming a 3-1 series deficit:https://t.co/Sp63FLat91— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) April 29, 2025
LakerTom
8 hours, 17 minutes ago

It’s time to pull these out @Lakers pic.twitter.com/6GvarPLL0c— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) April 28, 2025
LakerTom
8 hours, 12 minutes ago

That 3-1 comeback is gonna be special pic.twitter.com/TTGzgpS88o— Lane 😶‍🌫️ (@CookedByLane) April 29, 2025
LakerTom
7 hours, 59 minutes ago

Basketball Gods Have Left Lakers With Last Path To Championship So while the basketball gods did not intervene to prevent the zebras from stealing Game 4 from the Lakers, they did leave the purple and gold with a challenging-but-not-impossible path to survive the first round of… pic.twitter.com/FDyGtCHTut— LakerTom (@LakerTom) April 29, 2025

MongoSlade
1 hour, 21 minutes ago

Truth be told, we came close to losing Game 2 in the 4th but the difference was that MIN missed the wide open looks they’ve been hitting in the other 3 games. It’s a problem..

LakerTom
10 hours, 48 minutes ago

FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:

The Lakers failed to win either of their two games in Minnesota against the Wolves over the weekend. Now they are heading home down 3-1 and one loss away from their season being over.

Each game is its own singular event, but one thing that’s been clear is that the Wolves have been the sharper team.

While it’s human nature to focus on the final quarter of a close game, especially when your coach makes zero substitutions in a half, during his postgame comments, head coach JJ Redick highlighted the Lakers’ errors in the first half as a factor in their Game 4 loss.

“I thought we played well enough in the first half with our first shot defense, we should have been up double figures,” Redick said. “Instead, we’re down. Some turnovers led to some baskets and then offensive rebounds just killed us in the first half.”
- MongoSlade
  1 hour, 18 minutes ago
  
  Fatigue is a main issue. Not only causes physical mistakes but (and probably more importantly) mental mistakes as well.

LakerTom
10 hours, 51 minutes ago

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

Zach Lowe thinks Luka Doncic needs to fight more defensively

“He’s just helpless defensively, off the ball too,” Lowe stated bluntly on his podcast about Luka Doncic.

“How about you put up a fight in like game one. And now you’re down 3-1 and you’re probably going home.”

The criticism highlights a weakness that has followed Doncic throughout his career but has been particularly exposed in this playoff series against the athletic Timberwolves.

Despite the Lakers’ defensive needs against Minnesota’s explosive offense, Doncic has struggled to provide resistance on that end.

Where’s the Luka magic as a playmaker

While Doncic poured in 38 points in Game 4, Lowe pointed to another concerning statistic that suggests the superstar isn’t having his typical impact as a playmaker.

“One interesting stat from this series is that Luka only has 20 assists in four games, which for him is not very many,” Lowe explained.
Jamie Sweet
3 hours, 15 minutes ago

lol. Zach Lowe should look at some of the advanced stats a little more closely before popping off.

No other Laker has contested more shots than Luka (makes sense, they’re making him work on defense).

The Timberwolves are shooting the lowest FG% against Luka.

Those are the numbers, don’t much matter what the opinion’s around them are.
- MongoSlade
  1 hour, 11 minutes ago
  
  The thing that doesn’t show up in the stats is how often guys blow past Luka to get in the paint, causing everyone to scramble, and wreaking havoc on the overall team defense. Especially problematic when we have no rim protection
  - Jamie Sweet
    25 minutes ago
    
    Sure but the same could be said for Reaves, somehow the 40 year old is one of the better players at moving their feet…
  - MongoSlade
    16 minutes ago
    
    …and this is what I’ve been seeing for a coupla years now. We’re always gonna struggle against great guards. We just got one of the greatest offensive players in the game but we lost 2 of our best two-way guys in Max and AD. Good teams figure out how to beat the gimmick defense Redick has been running. Now if we somehow beat MIN 3 straight, we get a rested Steph & JimmyB.

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