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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
This was kind of a weird game. We dominated more than the score would indicate, even when we led by 18. We just missed a lot of easy shots. AD missed his first 6. All good looks. But in defense of the shooting, it has been a while since I saw so many in and outs or balls rolling around the rim. As Chick would say on his night, Heartbrrrreak.
Even though it took AD a while for his shots to fall, his campaign for DPOY rolled on. 5 more blocks to go with his 14 boards. And if there was a stat for altered shots he would lead in that stat as well. I know he would prefer the 4, but Darvin is a smart coach. He won’t do that. When someone is the best defensive center in the league, you don’t move him.
Max Christie is growing up before our eyes. The 3 for 3 from three was nice, but it’s on defense where he has shined. The last thing that comes to young NBA players is defense but Max at only 20 is way ahead of the curve. He is making a case for playing even after we are at full strength.
We saw playoff Austin for a quarter last night and that’s all we needed. 15 points in the quarter and a tremendous amount of energy on both sides of the ball is what drove our comeback and win. Now if he can just start making his 3’s.
Speaking of 3’s, Prince seems to have found his stroke again. He is 11 for 20 over his last 4 games. If the rest of our current players shoot as well as they have proven they can, we will be all right.
LeBron is playing amazing basketball in year 21. And that 360 spinning lay up was just ridiculous. But there are two areas I wish he could clean up. Turnovers have been a real problem this year. He had 5 of the teams 9 las night. Perhaps this an effect of aging, maybe his reflexes are not keeping up with his vision. But he makes a lot of WTF turnovers. He also needs to be shooting better than 69% from free throw line.
On a night he didn’t shoot well DLO did other things. He had 7 assists and 5 steals in 24 minutes. His D has been visibly better this year but last night he looked like a defensive stopper.
Vando came back last night. He played 14 minutes. While he didn’t score he played smothering D and had 4 boards. Paired with Cam who always seems to be everywhere on defense and AD allowing them to be even more aggressive, the skies the limit for this team.
Evidently they decided to hold Rui out one more game, even though he dressed. I think that was the right move. He didn’t even make the road trip after the surgery. It now gives him until Tuesday to find his rhythm.
I fear Wood might be out of the rotation soon. He only 11 minutes, most of that was in garbage time.
He is not a very good defender but his offense was supposed to make up for it. But with the exception of a couple of games that hasn’t happened. He is shooting 26% from 3 and only 46% overall which isn’t good for a big. If he is not going to score Hayes might end up getting the minutes when AD rests .And Rui can cover Lebron’s rest minutes.
Hopefully his shot will come around soon.We have the Suns next and it’s huge that we will have both Vando and Cam available to throw at Booker and AD. When we play top heavy teams like the Suns the bench really becomes important. And with players back our bench will be stronger then it’s been all season.
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I’m actually surprised the Suns depth has held up as well as it has. With 2 of their top guys missing 9 (Book) & 17 (Beal) games.
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It’s really hard to say what their bench will be like. 8 wins have been against sub 500 teams and their 4 other wins had both Booker and KD. They are kind of like the Lakers, waiting to see what they look like once they get healthy.
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Great job Michael. “the skies the limit for this team.” That is something I thought I would never come across as the season went on. It shows how good the team can be when it is healthy. What a breath of fresh air!!
Your point about LeBron’s turnovers is spot on. Nothing is more frustrating than watching LeBron throwing away all those possesions to the opposing team for free. -
Part of LBJ’s thing is trying to thread the passing needle too much. Some of his passing full court to AD has a slim chance of succeeding.
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It’s more like a quarterback who knows his best chance of a completion is just to throw the ball up and let AD get it. No different from Montana throwing to Rice. Some passes it’s up to the receiver to make a great play.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
We are getting 4 guys back today. Finally! It will be interesting how Darvin uses everyone. I do believe that eventually we could see Can and Vando starting together. But I’m curious to see if Darvin eases Vando in or if he throws him in the fire. Considering this is his first game and he has had no real practice time I think he will probably come off the bench.
It will probably look a little ragged for a few games but hopefully we can stay healthy and build that chemistry that’s been impossible to construct up to now.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
Of course that is a question that hasn’t been answered because of injuries. I do question our need for a shooter, especially one that doesn’t defend. Of course the dream is a volume 3 point shooter to keep defenses honest.
There is one big problem. The Lakers do not run plays to generate 3 point looks like the Warriors or other 3 point heavy teams. The Lakers generate 3’s from penetration or whipping the ball around the perimeter looking for the open man. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to matter how good of a shooter the open man is. (Remember Westbrook?)
Now we already have DLO. He is shooting.418% from 3 on 5.5 shots per game. That is very good. Can you remember a play they have ran to get him a 3 point look? I can’t. Rui shoots 41% from 3 on a little under 3 shots per game. We have not ran plays for him either.
Our biggest problem shooting from 3 is proven 3 point shooters, not making open shots. Prince is shooting 32%. Austin 31% and Wood a terrible 26%. These were guys we were counting on. Even though Vincent has played only 4 games, he made just one 3 pointer.
As long as we have AD and LeBron, that 3rd scorer will not make a huge difference. Love it or hate it, LeBron has always looked to find the open man, no matter who he is. I just don’t see the Lakers changing the entire offense to accommodate a 3rd scorer. When you consider how much we would need to land say LaVine, we would probably be worse off. Not only has DLO been playing better defense, he also scores17 a game and 6.4 assist to only 1.9 turnovers. Thats very good. LaVine wouldn’t bring much more than that. Zach by the way has 3.4 assists a game and 2 turnovers. It’s just not shooting that matters. And Rui is our best reserve to get LeBron rest. And he would be gone as well.
The fix? Simple, we have several guys that are much better shooters then they have shown so far. They just need to make their shots.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
It is not just the holiday season, it’s the season when the trade rumors start to flow. Of course no one really knows who teams are really interested in. There are so many people with agendas out there that it’s impossible to tell who a team covets. Per the rumors Buddy should have been a Laker, not Westbrook.
One thing I have heard is the Lakers are focused on internal development. And that may be closest to the truth. I mean I’m still waiting for our season to start. Vando hasn’t played yet and with every passing game it is apparent how much we miss his defense, hustle and rebounding.
We have only had 4 games that we were not missing at least 2 rotation players and we have had up to 5 rotation players out in a game. We were missing 4 the last game. With those 4 one could say that the 76er game would not have been a blow out.
When you have this many players in and out of the line up it becomes more than just missing a player. It is also impossible to build any kind of chemistry. I’m sure the Lakers didn’t have a lot of practices with Max starting and a bench of just Austin, Wood and Hayes.
Even with all the injuries, rebounding issues and inconsistent shooting we are 10 and 8. We are 2 games out of the 2nd seed and 3 1/2 out of the first. Two made shots would have given us two more wins. 4 made free throws would have given us another.
It looks like we may get everyone except Vincent back within the next week. Our depth has allowed us to hang in there. The Piston game normally would make me nervous. Teams can let up against really bad teams but after the 76er humiliation I don’t believe that will happen. Cam is probable which will help. OKC will be a big challenge on the 2nd night of a back to back. But even if we are 2-2 under these circumstances on this road trip I won’t be discouraged. Our season will be starting soon.
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Great post, Michael. Lakers are likely to wait until January so they can see what they have when everybody is healthy. If we did not have this depth, we would be in same situation as last year. It’s a good argument to maintain a 12-man rotation as there will always be injuries, especially if you’re the Lakers.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
The Lakers reminded us yet again why it’s a bad idea to be down by 20 going into the 4th quarter. Still it was a spirited comeback. But 4 missed free throws, Austin playing too far off Kyrie and I don’t know what LeBron saw on that forced pass into AD but it doomed us. Still if we can get our best defenders back I think we are in good shape.
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Yep. LeBron & Reaves led the comeback but ultimately gave up the game with AR being outta position (as usual) on the Kyrie 3 then LeBron with the bad turnover trying to force-feed AD.
Speaking of AD…0-3 in the entire 2nd half and that’s even with the Mavs only big man getting carried off the floor early on.
Still with zero wins against teams with good backcourts.
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Encouraging but frustrating loss. Here are my takes:
1. LeBron was cooked. That’s why he passed the ball to AR. Not to have him throw it back to him. James gave him the ball because he was gassed. That’s why he threw it up for AD. He couldn’t do any more. Father Time finally got to him.
2. AD must have a limit of 3 great games in a row and then a bummer. If so, I’ll take it. Davis is the best defensive anchor in the league and why we won in 2020 and can win this year. There are just going to be games where he can’t be Batman or Robin.
3. I’m so fucking tired of our players overhelping. If there’s one guy whom you should not help off of in an end game situation, it’s Kyrie Irving. That’s when you stick like glue to a player and switch everything and don’t worry about twos. Just don’t let them have an open three from their best shooter. Dumb play, Reaves.
4. Back-to-backs and 3 games in 4 days are the only things holding LeBron James from kicking Father Times’ ass right now. LeBron missed so many layups that it was obvious he should have taken off this game but the lure of the win was just too much.
5. Lakers need to bond and take charge on this roadie. Hoping we might see Cam and maybe even Vando soon. Lakers missing a lot of talent on the defensive end, which could be major game changers. Keep the faith.
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What alway makes me laugh are the believers that it doesn’t matter whom a team starts or that it’s more important who finishes games rather than who starts games. Both statements are naive over-simplifications of complex situations.
What’s undeniable is basketball games are not like horse races where pace is totally controllable. If you lose the first quarter, it is going to ultimately cost you wins no matter how good you are at coming back or how resiliant you are. It ultimately will kill you.
Ham’s apparently willing to wait for Vando to be healthy before removing Prince from the starting lineup. He wants to keep the new Reaves run bench roles for Rui, Christian, and others fixed. Only problem is poor play by Prince is putting us in the hole every single game.
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Lmao…it was a 4pt game after the 1st quarter. Probably a mistake to even have Max in the game at any point though but who else we got at this stage with all the injuries? Kyrie was licking his chops whenever Max & AR were together on the court.
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There really wasn’t an option. Besides, Prince was a big reason that we had a chance. 15 points 6-10 from the field 2-5 from 3. Lead the team in +|- with +15.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
The blow out win last night night was not a surprise. But holding Utah under 100 was. Offense is not their problem. They came in 9th in scoring with 116 a game, so our defense was impressive.
LBJ is amazing. Yes he has some head scratching turnovers and his perimeter defense isn’t what it used to be but sitting back in 4 spot, playing free safety makes up for it. And man. a career best in offensive efficiency is truly amazing.
AD seemed to moving freely for the first time since the hip injury. Thats a great sign.
Can we catch a break on the injury front? Cam’s defense was an integral part of our current success. Groin injuries can linger. I guess him coming back to the bench was a good sign, instead of receiving treatment in the locker room. Perhaps it’s just a mild strain. Fingers crossed.
I’m not particularly concerned by our inconsistent shooting. Overtime the guys will begin to trend towards their career averages.
Austin had a great game. For us to contend we need more consistency from him.
Wood had a bounce back game. It needs to become the norm.
Vando will be back soon. I’m looking forward to seeing him with Cam and AD. Could become one of the best defenses in the NBA.
With our 3 best on ball defenders out, the Mavs will be a challenge. While we won’t have an answer for Luka and Kyrie, I don’t think Dallas has an answer for AD and LeBron. It’s the 2nd night of a back to back. We really need to come out with energy. We can’t fall way behind again, may not have the energy down the stretch if we do.
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TP seems way off shooting. To an extent our best 3 shooters are “Funky” and LBJ. Need a real drainer.
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That’s not exactly accurate DJ. DLO is shooting .395 to LBJ’s .41 not a big difference. Rui is leading the team at .42 while Austin is at .35. He needs to be better and some of the other guys really needs to improve.
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I don’t think that DLO is consistent. Hot then Cold. What was great about last nite’s game was 7 or so double figure guys.
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Honestly, I couldn’t exactly describe the win last night. Was it because the Lakers were a very good team or the Jazz were just a very bad team? There was no in-between the two teams. One came to fight the other didn’t show up. I would rather the Lakers beat the hell out of a team they can beat. I mean, like when it rains let it pour. You know what I mean?
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I do Buba. Like I said, I wasn’t surprised by the blow out. What I didn’t expect was holding the Jaz to 99 points. They average 116 and are good offensively. They just suck on defense.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
On a night when AD was still hampered by that hip injury, we needed something extra to beat the Suns. And it came in the way of Cam Reddish. While his defense had been solid, his offense had been abysmal. 30% from the field and 12% from 3. Still, we as fans are not privy to what is going on in practice and Darvin followed a hunch and started Cam. The effect was twofold. Cam was huge starting, while Austin ran the 2nd unit to perfection. That’s something that had been missing.
After the 3rd loss in a row, panic had swept over Laker Land. Trade proposals were posted everywhere. I personally was not as worried. We had been slammed by injuries and as a group each player was shooting well under their career averages. I figured it would turn around at some point. It seemed that just about everyone contributed last night and that must continue. LeBron was LeBron, Rui had 4 steals and a block in 20 minutes and Wood pulled down 9 boards. Oh, shout out to Prince for that nifty little move to the basket for a game sealing layup. That was brilliant.
It will be interesting to see what the rotation looks like when Vando and Vincent return. I do think that Vando will become the 5th starter. He has definitely been the missing link defensively. Last year he allowed Austin and DLO to start together because they could put him on the best scorer. Now 6’ 10” I can’t think of another player in the league that size that can handle point guards.
I can see situations where they play 6’ 8” Cam with Vando and AD. That would be quite a defensive unit when you need to hold a lead.
I think at this point all we need to do is get healthy. But it’s good to know that we have options when we aren’t.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
What fun, exciting and at times frustrating game. On a night when 4 rotations players were not available our much ballyhooed depth was on full display.
Cam was thrust into the starting 5 and delivered. While he had trouble scoring his defense was impressive. Hopefully he can straighten out his shot moving forward.
Max was kind of the same. After playing one minute this year he became part of the rotation. His shot wasn’t falling either but he played some solid defense.
A lot is being made of the minutes LeBron had to play. But last night those minutes were born from necessity. With 3 forwards down against a very good team, he had to play big minutes and he came through with a vintage LeBron game.
AD continues to dominate. He has had one bad half in 5 games. His over all game may have him in the MVP conversation if he manages to stay healthy. DPOY is his for the taking.
I was upset by the rotation in the 1st quarter but Coach Ham made a brilliant move in the 3rd quarter. With Kawahi resting he went with all 3 centers and it exposed what could be a Clipper weakness going forward. Lack of depth and size. PJ Tucker is a gutsy player but offensively he was an easy cover for Wood and at 6’ 5” he was just too small. Hayes handled the centers. And of course having your AD being able to guard PG is a luxury. We went on a run while LeBron rested. We probably won’t see that line up much but under the right circumstances it’s powerful.
Welcome back Austin. He made his season debut At exactly the right time in the 2nd half.
Could DLO become our long coveted 3rd star? His defense has improved and if he can come even close offensively to what he has done the last 2 games he could be. He showed off his high IQ all night, especially against the Clippers zone where he found soft spots for 3 easy hoops.
Can we not fall down by double digits in the first quarter? Asking for a friend. Oh we may want to spend more time practicing free throws. A lot of misses and 3 for 6 down the stretch gifted that overtime session to the Clippers.
All in all it was a great short handed win against a quality team. But the true test of our depth will come when either LeBron or AD are unable to play. Hopefully that will not happen often this year.
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Good stuff Michael, I think DLo has come into this season with the perfect mentality. His scoring was zone busting last night as he slithered into every crevice, wormed his way to the hoop and just played stellar ball night. Everyone is still finding some mojo, One thing left unsaid so far is how the team is, to a man, pulling for one another. Great to see that this early.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
We are down 3 rotation forwards and a guard. We are short handed. I understand. But why do you take out AD. LeBron and DLO with both Kawahi and PG on the floor? I don’t understand that at all.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
This was the classic trap game. The Magic are a young talented team that has been waiting in LA since Friday. The Lakers were on the 2nd night of a back to back and an overtime game to boot. The Magic out hustled us all night but we pulled it out with huge nights from AD and DLO.
After a stellar preseason DLO had gotten off to a slow start. Tonight he was huge. 28 points on 14 shots will get it done. 3 for 6 from 3 and he threw in 8 assists. While it’s not a surprising when he scores, he has played solid defense all season. He got another block and steal tonight’.
AD wants the defensive player of year. He had another 3 blocks tonight. Other than that one bad half, he’s been dominating. Another 26 points and 19 boards.
It was nice having a 1st quarter lead. It definitely helps when you get 17 points from our guards.
LeBron was okay tonight. One can’t blame him on the 2nd night of a back to back. Still he had another 5 turnovers. That’s 18 in the last 3 games. Many are of the sloppy variety. He really needs to clean that up.
Woods been very good. I like him off the bench. It’s gives us scoring, shot blocking and rebounding to the 2nd unit. Tonight he got 27 minutes which is much better than previous games.
Austin has to get untracked. Enough said.
Vincent also was much better tonight.
I have a feeling that once Vando is back, Hayes and Cam will be the odd men out of the rotation.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
We saw something last night that was all too familiar. We fell behind early by 14 and had to fight our way back. That happened a lot last year and I’m hoping that it was the energy of the Nuggets ring night that caused it, not something we are going to see a lot.
This game was reminiscent of the last preseason game. We came out and couldn’t make shots. Austin missed some easy shots as did Dlo and Rui. The Nuggets are a good defensive team but not a great one and they had little to do with some of those misses. We have to get better.
Last year AD seemed to score well every other game. Last night he did it by halves. 1st half unstoppable. 2nd half disappeared. If LeBron is going to play only 30 minutes a game AD has to be better.
Prince was great last night. He is not as good as Vando on defense but he does compete. That kind of shooting could keep him in the starting unit. Still a bit concerned about his rebounding.
Speaking of rebounding we did win the rebound battle which had been a problem. We only turned the ball over 12 times but it lead to 20 points, highlighting our ongoing transition defense problems.
LeBron was LeBron. He missed his 3’s but was super efficient in everything else. He probably would’ve closed the game if it were close. By the way, can the man get a foul call? He was fouled on every drive, even got a bloody nose and didn’t draw a foul until the end of the game. And yes, the ref’s were homers last night.
Our 2nd unit is much better than Denver’s. I think it’s the reason why we should contend. But they have to be much better. We only won the 2nd unit battle by 4 points. It needed to be double digits. The 2nd unit guy who impressed me last night was Cam on the defensive side. He was very good.
It’s only one game against the champs on their ring night and we will get better. I still think by the end of the year we can beat the Nuggets in a 7 game series.
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Michael, as always, that’s an excellent article that brought up many pertinent points. You summed up the game perfectly. Even though I was disappointed with the loss, I will wait until we get to the tenth game to finally have an opinion on what we have as a team.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
It’s finally time for Lakers basketball again. And I’m excited about our team for the first time in 3 years, even though the first few preseason games are more like controlled scrimmages.
For me the story will be the young guys. I’m actually glad that we didn’t have the trade capital to land an aging star because we could already have a couple on the roster.
This was the summer of Austin Reeves, other than a couple of guys caught up in trade rumors, no other NBA player generated as much press as Austin. And rightfully so, he proved in the FIBA tournament that the end of last season wasn’t a fluke. He naturally will targeted more this year but he is a high IQ player and I’m confident he will adjust. It won’t take much of a leap for him to go from high end role player to star.
The other player that could make a leap is Rui. He might actually be the most intriguing player for me. When Rui became available i immediately was interested. While he had not lived up to high expectations, he had flashed that often enough for me to believe we had no chance of landing him. Of all of Rob’s mid season acquisitions I thought Rui was the best from a price point. The day Rui was acquired Phil Handy called Darvin and said give me Rui. Phil said he saw a little Kawhi in Rui. Big, strong, mobile with a sweet midrange game. All indications are that he has been one of the hardest workers on the team. A little better 3 point shooting will open up that midrange even more. While he is not a Kawhi on defense yet he proved to be pretty good in the playoffs guarding 2 through 5. With a full camp and knowledge of the system I expect he will become even better. Confidence is king in sports. He went from a miserable organization to the Lakers where LeBron is mentoring him. If you listen to him, he is really confident and I’m excited to watch him grow.
The next guy of interest for me is Vando. While his offensive game has to come a long way before him entering the future star conversation, he is quite unique in the NBA. If the reports are true and he really is now 6’ 11”, he might be the only guy that size in the NBA that can hang with guys like Ja and Steph. That alone makes him extremely valuable. If he can consistently shoot say 35% from 3 that would be huge.
The last guy, I will file under future star. Max Christie. While Cam Reddish has more experience and I would love him to finally unlock his potential, it’s Max that has been turning heads in training camp. He has gained 18 pounds of muscle since entering the league. He was pretty good as a rookie but if you watched summer league, you could see the tremendous growth in his game. The Lakers lost the summer league when they decided they had seen enough and pulled him. He was dominant. When Max came out of high school, he was a five star recruit and one of the top players in his class. He had a mediocre Freshman year in college and probably should have stayed another year. But we are fortunate that he didn’t because we probably wouldn’t have landed him. He could end up being as big a find as Austin in a couple of years.
As usual there is a lot of chatter on who the Lakers could target mid season for a trade. But this team is so deep that we may not need a trade to win another ring. I will be paying close attention to the kid’s development this year.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
Well it looks like Tom got his wish and it appears that Christian Wood is signing with the Lakers.
Adrian Wojnarowski
@wojespn
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33m
Free agent F/C Christian Wood has agreed on a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell ESPN. Deal includes a player option.The first year is for the minimum 2.7 mil and his option year is for 3 mil. At that price it’s a great signing and we did not have to give up an asset for him.
Now the ball is in Woods court.
1. He will have to at least give an effort on the defensive side of the ball or he will not play.
2. He will need to play within the offensive scheme and not freelance like he has been known to do.
3. He can’t project a negative attitude like in the past.His future paydays hinge on these 3 things. He can either buy in or face a future of minimum contracts.
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Great news. Wood obviously decided his best opportunity to rebuild his game and market value is take advantage of the Lakers’ opportunity. Lakers should now have the assets to win their 18th title. Coaches just need to somehow turn a bunch of projects and question marks into a championship team. What great news to get on a late Tuesday night. Go, Lakers!
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
Congratulations to Wenyen for helping to lead S. Sudan to a 3-2 FIBA record and an automatic birth in the Olympics. Their first.
Wenyen had 15 points 10 boards and 6 blocks in their win over Angola. His energy will be missed on the Lakers. If some of other options fall through, I would have no problem with bringing him back.
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Michael H wrote a new post
Aloha,
Watching Austin perform at such a high level really makes me wonder if he is poised to become the Lakers coveted 3rd star. Certainly Coaches Ham and Kerr believe he can.
Austin kind of reminds me of Manu Ginobili. He was the Spurs 3rd star. They both are big guards, high I.Q 2 way players. Austin is scoring at the same clip as Manu did. While Manu only made 2 all star games, he rode his overall game all the way to the hall of fame. Austin is showing the same game as Manu. The only question is, can he sustain it as teams focus on him. He is such a smart player, that I have little doubt that he will continue to excel.
I see all of these trade proposals for star players. They are almost all primarily scorers. The question is as a 3rd scorer on the Lakers, how much will they be able to score? I doubt they would score at the same clip they have as a 1st option. Is a pure scorer more valuable than a versatile 2 way player? I don’t believe it is.
A good example is Zach LaVine, a popular trade target with the media and bloggers. He averaged a little over 24 points a game last year. Would he duplicate that playing with the Lakers? A popular trade is DLO and Rui for LaVine plus’s picks and young players. Is Zach worth it when we have Austin? Dlo averaged 17 a game. Rui didn’t score as well in the regular season as he had with the Wizards. But he averaged 13 a game for his career and I’m confident that he will at least get that this season. He also a versatile defender and rebounds.
Now one of the big reasons folks want to trade DLO is because of his defense. Yet Zach has a career defensive rating of 113.9 while DLO’s is 113.6. So in essence by trading of LaVine, you get 6 points less a game and poorer defense for his 40 mil salary. Why would you do that when you have Austin and Rui?
When you examine most of these trade scenarios it usually the same. They generally are scorers. When you weigh what you give up against what you gain, we generally lose in the end with these trades.
I believe we already have a 3rd star. His name is Austin Reeves.
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There’s a lot of this going around right now and, to a point, deservedly so. Reaves has been a solid contributor both for the Lakers and Team USA, no doubt. You bring up a point I often do, one that generally gets brushed aside: how will he do when he’s not surprising anyone anymore? His skills and smarts are both constantly on display, but what about his ability to adapt to changes in coverage?
We saw how THT did when defenses realized that he wasn’t fast, can’t jump, and just uses english to sp9n the ball into the rim around the hoop so sit on his jump shot and make him look to pass (and to his credit he finally started doing that in Utah after he got benched when the season mattered).
Reaves, I believe (and hope) is “smarter” than THT. The quotes are to indicate not wordly or intellectual smarts but hoops IQ. Reaves uses what he has very well and my hope is that, when defenses key in on him a little more, he can flash his improved dribbling and continue to be an effective and, probably more importantly, efficient scorer. It’s hard to find a guy like Reaves who scores well in a role with limited opportunities. It’s a lot easier to find guys like Nick Young who are “fearless gunners” but, if one is honest, just jack up shots when there’s a shred of daylight.
One helps build a winning team and culture, the other shoots the ball a lot, often when there’s a better play to be made, I believe Austin is and can continue to be part of group 1…but we’ll see. He’ll have more expectations, less space to hide in and won’t be surprising a single coaching staff. This season is a big test for Austin as he’s but one season removed from his “oh look, he hit the rookie wall” season.
THT withered and wilted when the defenses keyed into his skillset (which was limited, at the time) and I’ll forever believe we chose the wrong player betwixt THT and Caruso. They can, to a small degree, rectify that (and have taken the first steps in doing so) by relying and expecting more out of Reaves. Here’s hoping it all comes together for the young man for if his fortunes are positive it likely trickles down to the entire team.
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I’m in agreement that there’s a great chance Austin Reaves will be the Lakers third star and a future All-Star. He’s actually taken multiple leaps in the last 6 months. First, when Westbrook was traded. Then in the playoffs. And now again in the World Cup.
When you can shoot, an entirely different universe of upsides emerge. THT’s vulnerability was always his shot. Fortunately, for Reaves, that’s his strength. He’s a potential 50/40/90 shooter who appears to have room for more volume without major decrease in efficiency
I like Michael’s comparison of Ginobili not for the style of game but for the style of impact Reaves can have. I always have a hard time comparing lefties with righties. Ginobili is a great comparison though for his ability to handle the ball and shoot the rock. Austin can do both and is clutch and impacts game even with limited shot opportunities. Pure Ginobili.
The Lakers know Reaves is the third star they want. What they’re looking for right now is really LeBron’s replacement. Buha’s article brought up a great point which is Reaves ascension to third star may now push the Lakers to go all in on replacing LeBron with a wing who can play the three, somebody like Brandon Ingram, OG Anunoby, or Cam Reddish?
I love the versatility and multiplicity of directions the Lakers can go. Bottom line, this is a superstars’ league and the Lakers are interested in BOTH replacing LeBron and finding a third star.
Austin Reaves may have narrowed their task to replacing LeBron.
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Good stuff, Michael. I want to see Reddish and Vanderbilt on Booker and KD. Would love to see LBJ playing point when Cam and Vando are on the court together.