Aloha,

It’s trade season again and the expectation seems to be that the Lakers will make one. But what if they can’t? Personally I think it’s more likely that the Lakers won’t be able to make a big trade than making one.

Take Murray for instance. The Hawks do not want DLO. That make sense. The two PG experiment didn’t work with Murray so why would it work with DLO? So the Lakers need to find a third team. This is where it gets tricky. The Lakers not only need to find a third team that will take on DLO but also has something of value for the Hawks. And we really can’t pay a team to take him because our first round pick needs to go to the Hawks. Last year the Lakers lucked out because we were the third team. The Timber Wolves wanted Conley and we had the assets to help make it happen.

I am not even sure that landing Murray increases our odds for a championship. For me, health is still the biggest factor. The Lakers are 21 and 12 when fewer than 3 rotation players are out. And that doesn’t even take under consideration that guys and the team has to find a rhythm when players return. One can only imagine what if Vando had been available all year after watching him play recently now that he is healthy and in playing condition.

Murray would help our perimeter defense but by how much? DLO is currently on a hot streak and it is unrealistic that he maintains this level of play, still as the third option would Murray out perform DLO’s 17 points, 6 1/2 assists and 42% 3 point shooting? Plus, while DLO isn’t a lock down defender he has been decent at team defense. While Murray hasn’t resembled the defender he was a few years ago. Considering we can insert Vando and Cam when better defense is required, I’m not sure that a Murray trade would be much more than a wash at best.

Unless something unexpected happens I am beginning to think that holding off on a trade until the summer when will have more assets available maybe the best scenario moving forward.

Aloha,

I think this was what the team was meant to look like. Contributions from the whole squad. AD and LeBron both had good games but it was the others that got this win. 6 players in double figures and great team defense. While we still have 2 guys are out we have enough guys returning to make a difference.

Vando is beginning to look like Vando again. While his stat line doesn’t jump out at you except the 3 steals. he played 18 minutes of elite defense, mostly against SGA.

It’s so good to have Rui back. While he is still on minutes restriction, he scored 12 points and was 2 for 3 from 3. He also played solid defense and had 2 blocks.

Christian Wood is finally looking comfortable and has played well the last several games. 11 points 7 boards and 3 blocks.

I was worried about our back court defense with DLO and Austin starting together but over all they played well. DLO definitely has improved his defense and several good defensive plays.

Holding a team like OKC to 105 is a very good effort. This is the vision Rob had when he put this team together. Now we just have to keep it going.

Aloha,
Perhaps I’m not as upset with last night as some are. First the Jazz were at home and are extremely hot right now. 5 of their last 7 wins have come against the Nuggets, the 76ers, the Bucks, the Heat and the Mavs, so they were going to be a challenge to beat.

2nd the Jazz threw AD’s rhythm off, sent a double every time he touched the ball. Usually the two bigs. He had 10 assists but missed a lot of shots he normally makes. Now with LeBron there would be no way they could defend AD the same way. Plus they could not have stopped LeBron inside. None of their bigs are strong enough.

3rd. Other guys stepped up. DLO was unconscious. He showed his value when he is the primary ball handler without LeBron. Even when LeBron returns I think he should start. Austin, who also played well was much more comfortable as the off guard and wasn’t over dribbling into the teeth of the defense. Off the bench he was in the conversation for 6th man of the year. I think that’s his best spot.

It was nice having Rui back. It was a shame he was on a minute restriction because they clearly had no answer for him. Like LeBron he was just too strong for their bigs. After a stretch of good play, Darvin had stated he would be starting before his last injury. He should start Rui as soon as he is back up to speed. Cam is clearly fighting an injury after having to leave the game after 11 minutes. It’s the perfect time to insert Rui.

I don’t see a trade happening anytime soon. So until a trade materializes I think a starting lineup of DLO, Prince, Rui, LeBron and AD gives us the best chance. With proper rotations I think our 2nd unit would be solid as well.
While Rui isn’t as good as Vando or Cam on defense, he is pretty good and he is a real offensive threat with helps open up things for AD and LeBron.

Aloha,

Well that was stupid. We shot 50% The Suns shot 49%. The Suns shot 36% from 3 making 14. We shot 38% making 13. Sounds like an even game until you consider the 17 turnovers and 13 offensive boards. The Suns took 13 more shots than we did. Ball game. You would think giving up 127 points meant bad defense but it was more like bad offense. We were always trying to defend in transition. The Suns scored 17 points off of only 9 turnovers in the first half, they were almost all live ball turnovers and it seemed like they all ended in made 3’s or and ones.

We are not going to win many games when LeBron scores 10 point with 4 awful turnovers and AD scores 13 with 5 rebounds. The thing that irritated me most was the lack of effort in trying to get AD the ball. Tonight the others scored 86. That normally would lead to a blowout. It was a blowout all right.

And of course we continue to be snake bit with injuries. Wood who has been playing well missed due to a migraine. And Cam got hurt 8 minutes into the game. We could have really used his defense.we were only down 5 when he left. We can’t beat the top heavy teams with our starting line up but our advantage is supposed to lay with our depth. But our depth is rarely available. Rui, Wood and Cam could have helped. And of course Vincent was brought in for his on ball defense. That would have been extremely beneficial tonight.

I’m thinking we should start DLO again. Austin was playing his best ball off the bench. He was being mentioned as a 6th man of the year candidate. But he’s struggling as a starter again. He was targeted all game. Even though DLO is not a great defender, he was better than Austin. Plus Dlo is a natural PG. Austin is a combo guard. I like Austin better when he’s paired with LeBron on the 2nd unit.

All in all it was a crappy effort. More so by LeBron and AD. They have to lead the charge and neither could tonight.

Aloha,

For those who think a trade is going to turn this around, it’s not. Besides, the trade market is full of buyers and very few sellers so competition for those players that do hit the market will be fierce.

It will be up to the players and coaches to turn this season around. I actually place more blame on coaching in this last game. It was apparent that they did not want Ja to beat them and they collapsed the paint all night. While it did work to some degree, Ja was 7 for 17, there was no adjustments made when the Griz got hot from 3. Sure the Griz is a bad 3 point shooting team but even a poor 3 point shooter will hit shots if left completely alone.

We have AD, yet the coaches never adjusted. When we were playing good defense earlier in the year, our perimeter defenders got up on players, knowing AD had their backs. At some point an adjustment needed to be made. Not only were guys collapsing but they dropped to deep, making it impossible to challenge.

Yes Smart is a poor 3 point shooter and he did make a couple of contested shots but for the most part he was left alone to make what amounted to practice shots. JJJ shoots a set shot 3, yet LeBron was so far off him he could get that shot off with no problem.

I really don’t know what the answer is but players and coaches a like need to take a long look in the mirror and decide if they want to turn it around or not. These kind of performances can not continue.

Aloha,

Lakers lead the league in player games lost to injury 99, back to back games 7, road games and miles traveled and games played.

Aloha,

I rarely speculate on trades but one jumped out to me. The Hawks have coveted Siakam. They came close to trading for him last year. Hunter was the guy the Raptors wanted. The problem this year is Siakam 37 mil contract. Hunter is making 20 mil. I doubt that the Raptors would want to bring in Murray as well because they just acquired Quickly and it would be redundant. The Hawks could send the Raptors Hunter and draft picks for Siakam. We could send the Raptors DLO, our 2029 pick and we may have to include Max as sweetener. And the Hawks send us a Murray. This move would make sense for everyone. Murray’s salary jumps to 25 mil next year so that may not be appealing. While Dennis a fine PG he is most suited off the bench. Quickly is more of a combo guard. The Raptors also struggle from 3. DLO gives them a true PG that can shoot. Win, Win, win all around.

Aloha,

It wasn’t so much that we won the game, that was expected. It was how we did it that was unusual. We were up 10 when AD and LeBron went out in the 3rd and won by 21. With the lead peaking at 27. This is something you don’t see every game. The others were the story.
Rui +34
Wood+19
Dlo+18
Max+18
Austin+9
AD+6
LeBron+1

Over the last 4 games the Lakers are 53-117 from 3. 45%•.

It was nice to see DLO and Wood hitting their 3’s. DLO 4-7, Wood 3-3.

Max has a future in this league. 10 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. What impresses me the most is how solid he is on defense at 20 years old. He makes mistakes but he has shut down potential.

Rui is beginning to find his rhythm. And he is playing quality defense as well. He needs to play more minutesZ

AD continues to dominate and it doesn’t matter the quality of the opponent. He is destroying everyone. 26 8 and 4 blocks in 26 minutes. By the way he has now played in 79 of the 83 games.

Austin is becoming one of the craftiest player in the league. That behind the back layup was often.

Jackson Hayes, instant offense 10 points in 7 minutes.

On to the TWolves. We played them tough last time without LeBron. If our others continue to play well we will have an excellent chance of winning.

Aloha,

That was encouraging. Actually I was encouraged last game as well, playing the number 1 seed and battling without LeBron. Tonight it was the number 2 seed with the 4th ranked defense in league and we scored 129. OKC made a late run but that’s expected. They are really good. What is really scary about OKC is they have the assets to get any player they want that comes on the trade market. They have been reluctant to pay big bucks in the past, hopefully that continues.

The big line up was pretty good. They gave up a lot of 1st quarter points but OKC made a lot of really tough shots. You knew they could not keep that up.

What’s left to say about LeBron. He had his best game of the year when we needed it most. And efficient. 65% shooting and 3 for 5 from 3.

It must of been frustrating for OKC. They doubled and tripled AD every time he touched the ball and he still scored 26. And those doubles led to AD’s 7 assists and good shots all around.

Can we can please continue to give Rui more minutes. He was very good again tonight. 21 points and 3 for 5 from 3. And he also played some nice defense as well. It appears that he is finding his rhythm and maybe getting use to playing with that mask.

DLO was very good. 15 points in 17 minutes. With Him, Rui and Austin coming off the bench, it gave us a lot of fire power. 47 points to be exact.

We won the 3 point game tonight. 16 made to 13 but even more importantly 50%.

Cam and Vando didn’t score much but their defense was impressive. And Cam was a team high +13 and had 7 assists to boot. Still he will need to be better shooting the ball.

If we can play with this kind of energy we will beat the Celtics on Christmas.

Aloha,

Well this should be interesting. After going through Dennis, Russ and DLO we are back to where we started in the bubble, with LeBron at the point. On the defensive end, I think this can work. The bubble team had really good 6’ 5 and 6’ 6” wings with LeBron. This line up has 6’ 8” Cam and 6’ 10” Vando. Vando is still playing himself back into shape but Darvin obviously believes he is ready. The offensive side is the concern. Prince will have to continue to knock down 3’s and Cam will need to find the range as well. We still need AD to dominate and we need guys hitting 3’s to space the floor. While DLO has been slumping, teams still had to account for him.

I’m curious to see how the rotations will look. That will be key. Our bench will consist of 3 guards, Rui and Probably Hayes. So the rotation will be super important. I really don’t want to see 3 guard line ups. You might see Vincent as the first guard off the bench. We brought him in to guard the quick guards like SGA. This certainly will be interesting.

If it works you may not need a point guard back if we were to trade DLO. We could always sign an emergency PG if we traded DLO for a non PG. But I don’t know who that would be yet. I don’t think we will know who is really on the trade market for several weeks. Right now it’s mostly speculation from writers. In thing I don’t want to see is Rui in a trade unless it’s for an upgrade at the 4. I do not want Wood as our primary back up at the 4. He has been terrible.

This experiment may tell us a lot about the direction we go in the trade market.

Aloha,

What a difference a couple of weeks can make. A couple of weeks ago the chatters was about the Bulls blowing it up. Then a strange thing happened. LaVine got injured and the Bulls got good. Now before his injury they were a plus 6 when he sat, but I don’t think anyone saw 6 and 3 coming. .

Not only have they been winning, they have beat the Bucks, 76ers and Heat. And two of the losses were to the Bucks in OT and by just 2 to the Heat. One wonders if this stretch will change anything. They may hold tight to see what happens, or they might try and see what they can get to bolster their roster by moving just LaVine. They may turn into buyers. Bottom line, they are a dangerous team and we can not over look them.

Aloha,

Missing 3 starters is a killer. It messes your game plan up. The first quarter was an example of that. We were completely disjointed on both sides of the ball and it took some time to settle in.

We saw why AD is so important to this team on defense. First the Spurs were not afraid of Hayes and Wood. They attacked the paint, getting a lot of little baby jumpers and points at the rim. And on the perimeter, we could not be as aggressive without AD having the teams back.

It also impacted the offense. Not just for what he scores, not just because we run the offense but also we didn’t get nearly as many open looks, especially from three because they didn’t have to collapse on AD.

Missing both Cam and DLO also took a toll. Basel had a career high 36 without Cam to check him. And we really missed DLO’s play making. And not having Austin to run the 2nd unit really hurt as well. We might have survived without AD if those two had played.

LeBron also was missing AD. They bottled him up pretty good. He made them pay with 14 assists but it made it difficult to score.

At some point it would be nice to be healthy. What a concept. We may see Vincent in the next couple of games which will be great. Hopefully we will have these other guys back for the Knicks.