….we get the 3rd seed and a healthy Nuggs squad ends up 6th, that’s an almost guaranteed 1st round exit for us. I don’t even think OKC wants to see them again…Aaron Gordon looked really good tonight. If Watson comes back strong then they suddenly have alotta depth which has been their biggest weakness in the past. We definitely wanna see anyone besides OKC, SA, or DEN…

But even worse, if this group plays over their heads for the last few weeks of the season then it could cause Rob to do what he always does. Which is hold onto guys due to familiarity and not truly revamp this roster as he should. That would be tragic.

…it’s more about the matchup. I don’t wanna see OKC, Spurs, or a healthy Nuggets squad in the 1st round. That’ll be almost a guaranteed 1 & done due to the advantage they all have over us at the center spot but also the type of guards they have who can smoke Luka & Reaves on the perimeter with their dribble drive penetration.

But I think we have a decent shot to take down the Rockets. They don’t have a traditional PG who can burn us and they haven’t been right since they lost Adams for the year. Wildly inconsistent. It does us no good to get to the 3rd seed but have the Nuggs with Gordon & Watson back on the court at 6th as our reward. We saw what the 3 seed got us last year.

We’ve got 2 games coming up against HOU and it’ll be interesting to see how we look with the season quickly winding down.

Hard to get a read on MIN as well…

_

Reason being…I’m not 100% sold on Luka’s leadership capabilities at this point. Your best player isn’t always the best leader. Giannis has shown that he’s both and he’ll jump in his teammates’ azzes if he needs too. Only time I see Luka get emotional is when he’s whining to the refs.

It’s easy to write off LeBron but that leadership void is gonna be something to be dealt with.

Mediocre, Average, Underwhelming. And it perfectly describes this team and frankly this entire organization right now. Besides Luka’s individual stats, there is no meaningful area where we are truly “elite”. And being in the middle is the absolute worst place to be in the NBA.

But we might see a 5 game win-streak on the immediate horizon while we’re playing a bunch of mid & sub-mid teams and folks will be claiming that the Lakers have turned the corner heading into the end of the season. Then reality will set in when we start playing actual contenders again.

How about Dalton Knecht for Mark Williams? Oh..wait…nevermind.

Seriously though.. that Pelinka screwup was almost as bad as the Russ trade.

Fix this

– In our last 11 games, we’ve played 3 teams who currently have winning records. Got smoked by every single one of them. The month of December will tell us where we really stand among contenders…schedule gets alot tougher.

– We only shot 15 free throws in that Suns game; Luka & Reaves average 21 per game just between the 2 of them. We rely waaaayyyy too much on the whistle. Not a good sign for the playoffs when we all know physical play is rewarded much more than during the regular season.

– Lebron hasn’t looked right since he missed all those games back in March…where we pretty much played .500 ball the rest of the way and got booted from the playoffs in the 1st round. He was a true liability in that Suns game. Maybe he needs more rest? idk

– OKC. Everybody else is just playing for 2nd place. They probably can’t keep up this pace or win 73 games, but they don’t need to. They’ve done all this and haven’t even had their full roster all season. Their schedule will also get tougher but this team just looks unstoppable. That playoff experience from last season was invaluable.

– Trades. If we aren’t beating OKC (we ain’t) then I don’t want to see us going “all in” this season by picking up older dudes. Only trades I want to see are those that make us younger, faster, and more athletic.

– Rui. His inconsistent aggression is a problem. Sometimes he starts a game and I’m saying “Damn…Rui’s in his bag tonight!”. Then he disappears. Other nights, you don’t even realize he’s on the floor. You’re not going to get a buncha plays run for you as the 4th or 5th scoring option; you’ve gotta take the bull by the horns and make the most of every opportunity. It’s almost as if the coaches & the players don’t have faith in him.

—– Bill Parcells used to say “You are who your record says you are.” But there’s also a saying that states “Winning is the world’s greatest deodorant.” I ain’t saying we stink, but I feel like our record is masking alotta issues that may bite us in the bootay come playoff time. Again, these next few weeks should give us a clearer picture—–

I don’t see any move the Lakers (maybe even the entire NBA) can make that will put them past OKC. They will be the prohibitive title favorites for the next 2 seasons at minimum. Might be foolish to give up too many assets trying to catch them next season. Daniel Gafford ain’t putting us over the top.

C – Ivica Zubac

SF – Rui Hachimura

PF – LeBron James

SG – Luka Doncic

PG – Alex Caruso

Thanks Rob…masterclass

It's USA Basketball Showcase time!

🇺🇸 #USABMNT vs 🇨🇦 @CanBball

10:30 pm ET/7:30 pm PT
📍 @TMobileArena

📺 FS1 pic.twitter.com/72dKQkM0qU

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 10, 2024

.@AllenSliwa breaks down the #Lakers unsuccessful off-season and why he believes it went down that way 👀

What would you have done differently Lakers' fans? pic.twitter.com/KUctn3weza

— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) July 9, 2024

Hope everyone had a great 4th. We had an awesome cookout yesterday and of course the conversation turned towards the Lakers. The question I always put out there is what kinda culture are they building? What’s the guiding set of principles for the future? Somebody made a great point about Meritocracy. It feels like nobody in the positions of power have actually EARNED their status and then how does that trickle down & infect the entire franchise? We all know how the Owner, Governess?, whatever her title got her job. The GM got installed due to his relationship with Kobe while having no practical experience. Head Coach?….pretty much the same situation. 55th pick?…’nuff said. Just another wrinkle that I hadn’t seen previously. We’ve got foundational problems that run so much deeper than just finding a backup center…smdh

remember during the trade deadline… when Lakers fans was BEGGING Robbery Pelinka to make a move… ANY move… & he said it was best to stand pat that particular moment in time… cuz they had 3 FRPs available to aggressively try to improve the team in the summer… now here we are pic.twitter.com/aanRCnFYDM

— ♕𝕕𝕒𝕧𝕠𓅓 (@shpillo_) July 3, 2024

Orlando Magic F Jonathan Isaac has agreed on a five-year, $84 million contract renegotiation and extension, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/4skp5qS2sp

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2024

"I am BAFFLED at the total inability of Rob Pelinka to get anything done, ever."

— @getnickwright reacts to Klay Thompson planning to join the Mavs, and sounds off on the Lakers not acquiring the SG: pic.twitter.com/SpFGI8sggg

— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) July 1, 2024

Lebron ain’t giving up half his salary for any of these dudes left who would fit into that MLE. Lakers FO needed to be ready to move quickly but that’s never been Rob’s strong suit (not sure he has one). CP3 & JV didn’t even wait around to go to a contender…

via @YouTube https://t.co/Qv6tqhHlaZ

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 30, 2024

Lakers center Jaxson Hayes is exercising his $2.4 million player option to return for the 2024-25 season, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Hayes reunites with new coach JJ Redick. pic.twitter.com/FCmbZAWwoK

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2024

Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell is picking up his $18.7 million player option for next season to stay in LA, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/H44wduSZL3

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2024

Full trade on ESPN: Dejounte Murray for Larry Nance Jr., Dyson Daniels, 2025 first-round pick (via Lakers), 2027 first-round pick (least favorable of Bucks-Pels) https://t.co/4BLEuDodqT

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2024

I’m so happy Rob didn’t make a stupid over-reach and waste the pick on a damn backup center and instead took the best guy left on the board. You just hired a guy who’s gonna stress 3pt shooting so common sense says that you go out & get shooters….it ain’t rocket surgery (lol).

The thing I like about Knecht is that he’s a good example of a player I think we need more of…I want a buncha young, quick, athletic live wires all around 6’5″-6’9″ surrounding our CENTER Anthony Davis.

The drawback for Knecht is that he’s not a defender and we need TWO-WAY PLAYERS. We scored 118pts a game..that’s #2 in the West. Best in the league was IND at 123 (World Champs scored 120). Problem is that we gave up 117 in the process! Can JayJay squeeze out an extra 4 or 5 points? Probably. But if we continue to neglect the defense (especially the perimeter) then we’re gonna be a 5 or 6 seed and a 2nd round exit. Can’t go into the season (and definitely not the playoffs) with this same backcourt.

Backup center? Much easier to fill that spot than finding elite shooting & athleticism. 3 & D wings are becoming even more rare. Rob gotta show us something……

The passing of Jerry West put some things in perspective for me in terms of the current situation the Lakers find themselves in. The 1st thing folks want to do is compare JayJay Redick to Pat Riley or Steve Kerr or even Eric Spoelstra. But what we fail to realize is the common thread that runs through Riles & Kerr and ultimately to Spo (thru Riles) is Jerry West. I don’t think they have the same success without that guiding hand, mentorship, and presence in that office down the hallway. I hated the way he was portrayed in that Winning Time series (hell, just about everyone came out looking bad in that thing) but you can really tell how influential the man was when you read the tributes by the guys who worked under him (Ty Lue included).

So now I look at JayJay as a potential coach. No doubt, he has a good “basketball mind” (most guys who spent their life in the game do) but who’s gonna be his Jerry West? That part really eats at me. I suspect that it may be one of many reasons for Hurley turning down the job. Who’s gonna be the architect of the future? Who has the plan? Is there a plan? If you say Rob Pelinka then…..we got a problem. We tried to compare him to Bob Myers…but guess what? Jerry West mentored him too!!!!!

Sometimes it just feels like we need a grown-up in the room.

.@RicBucher: Hiring JJ Redick would be a mistake by the Lakers.

“I’m praying that they do this because it would be the most comical thing that we’ve ever seen.” pic.twitter.com/7A5VM5rfg4

— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) May 22, 2024

.@JoyTaylorTalks: I think it's a mistake for the Lakers to hire JJ Redick and expect him to be Pat Riley. pic.twitter.com/XQDV8P7vvy

— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) May 22, 2024

Anthony Edwards confirms the rumors pic.twitter.com/LE6xP66DDk

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 17, 2024

“If it’s JJ [Redick], you’re going to have a cynical locker room.” 😳 @ThisIsUD on the Lakers’ head coach search. pic.twitter.com/ufJZbJjrma

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 14, 2024

This seemed to be the difference between this game and the previous 11. We never let up for 48 minutes. We made a concerted effort to keep Gordon from killing us on the boards again (3rebs, 0 offensive) which was huge. No meltdown at crunchtime. We hit the timely shots & the Nuggs didn’t.

And this is what has frustrated me about this team this year..they don’t bring those 3 things every night. When they do, they can hang with anyone. Just stay focused on this 1 game Mon, don’t worry about the past or the future..just stay in the moment.

This is the basic problem between the Nuggs and the Lakers. We have to play damn near flawless basketball for 48 minutes…the Nuggs don’t.

ESPN Sources: Juwan Howard has agreed to join the Brooklyn Nets as an assistant coach. Howard spent six NBA seasons as a Heat assistant before returning to Michigan for five years as head coach. Howard arrives as part of Jordi Fernandez’s first staff. pic.twitter.com/RMjNVgpiel

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 26, 2024

“It’s just 1 game”..nah…it’s 9 games in a row. They have zero fear of us and the damn crowd is chanting Who’s Ur Daddy.

Our depth is supposed to be our strength but we only had 1 guy off the bench with a shot ATTEMPT. That’s crazy. DeAndre Jordan had a bigger impact than any of our reserves…think about that.

They only shot 6 free throws which seems great. Then I look & see they only had 4 turnovers. That kinda tells me we aren’t being aggressive enough on D. Gotta break some eggs to make an omelet.

7 turnovers from Lebron. Can’t talk about playing perfectly and then come out and do that.

Not sure what the answer is…our guys have acknowledged they have to be perfect just to have a chance…that’s damn near impossible and a whole lotta pressure.

These games have pretty much all come down to late game execution. Focus & attention to detail. Every time it’s close down the stretch, the Nuggs have had the answer. None of all this other analysis will matter if we can’t correct the crunchtime issues.

“It’s a combination of a couple different things. That’s why I mentioned consistent discipline with our execution, make sure we get the right shots that we know makes us that much more hard to guard,” Ham said of the late-game problems. “And give them credit. They had different guys step up and make big shots for them. We’ve had unfortunate turnovers, unfortunate missed blockouts. And they’re a championship team. So, you have to do the little things.

“The intangibles have to be on point.”

Old John McKay line when asked about his team’s execution after a bad game…

“I’m in favor of it”

One minute you’re talking about the 6th seed with a week’s rest and the next you’re looking at needing to win 2 road play-in games just get your foot in the door. Don’t blink….

AD told us 3 weeks ago that seeding didn’t matter to them. Just play who’s on the court against you and let the chips fall where they may. Can’t control how many games these other teams win or lose in this final week. All this hand-wringing & conjecture…lol. If you’re going into the postseason worrying about ducking & dodging certain teams then you ain’t gonna get that ring anyway. Hell, we could get to #6 and end up with #3 Nuggets as the reward in the 1st round. I almost rather see us in the play-in without the week off to possibly disrupt the groove we’ve been in. LET’S ROLLLLL!!!!!!!

By the way….anybody still wish Doc Rivers was coaching us???

I understand we want the highest seeding possible and avoid the play-in, but the matchup seems like the more important piece and it’s something we have little control over. How good is that 6th seed if we end up facing the Nuggs as the 3rd seed in the 1st round? I would almost rather face GSW & PHX in the play-in games and then face a #1 seeded OKC in the 1st round. The trick is to avoid DEN & SAC as much as possible….imho

KD, Book, Beal
Luka, Kyrie
Steph, Klay, Draymond
Lebron, AD

2 of those 4 groups will be gone after the play-in if the standings hold. West is a cold piece.

How do I know this? Because AD said it himself last week. They don’t care about the play-in or the seeding. They believe they can flip the switch and make another run like last year from any position. The 10 teams were decided weeks ago so they knew they were in the tournament unless something really crazy happened. It’s a dangerous mindset (which he probably shouldn’t have said out loud) IMHO because they had some very favorable matchups and you can’t count on that happening again. And bad habits developed over 82 games don’t just suddenly disappear.

But if they don’t care then why should I give a damn?

Is anyone able to get in contact with Tom outside of the board?

I know he was probably upset with the Lakers inactivity at the trade deadline but it’s not like him to go dark for this long. I’m hoping he’s not having any health issues again…

Sooo….nothing happened. Feels like the organization believes it can somehow reproduce what happened at the end of last season but Rui & AR were playing much much better than they are now. Maybe those coupla months last season were just outliers…in any case, these 2 need to step it up big time now that they know they’re on the squad for the duration.

Dejounte Murray. We didn’t get him but neither did anyone else. Hawks asking price might have been way too high considering all the picks they gave up to get him in the first place. Not gonna fret over the details because nobody really knows. Those who tell don’t know and those who know don’t tell.

Most of the major moves went down in the East so it won’t affect us anyway…we ain’t getting that far. Dallas made a low-key move to add some size with Gafford & PJ Washington

A few names might shake loose on the buyout market (Lowry, Dinwiddie, Gallo, Joe Harris) where we’re positioned to make a move with that open roster spot and cap situation. Don’t see anything major but somebody could come in and mesh well with what we’ve got going on.

Now we go into the final 28 games still around .500 and the 9th seed hoping to thread the needle like last year. Only the opposition looks improved and we still can’t execute during clutch time against the Nuggs. Need the role players (JV, Cam, Gabe, now Christie) to finally get healthy and for D.Russell not to take his usual nosedive when the stakes are highest.

We’ll see what happens.

This is the thing I hate most about Lebron’s leadership style..or lack thereof. This cryptic passive-aggressive boolsheet. If you’ve got something to say then say it with your chest. You’ve earned that privilege.

He’s had some unfortunate injuries this year and it’s led some in the media to call him inconsistent. But he’s been pretty steady when healthy..especially after getting rid of that mask. He’s one of the few guys we have who plays with energy on both ends night in & night out. Hate to see him get tossed into a trade as some kinda salary filler.

I’m getting the feeling he’s about to take his usual drop-off after a string of impressive games. He was in the process of giving away the GSW game and followed that up with 2 unimpressive outings in blowout losses to HOU & ATL. Might be time to sell high asap.

You can’t give a heart transplant to the entire roster so it’s the only move left to make. If you’re building your identity on defense and the team stops defending then what da hell are we even doing. Outside of JV, nobody’s hustling, nobody’s moving their feet, nobody’s hands are active, nobody’s getting back off of missed shots. Frankly it looks like the team has quit and it says as much about our veteran “leadership” as it does about the coach. Hard for me to see a trade making a whole lotta difference at this point. What a sh!tshow.

LeBron James said he plans on playing the second night of the Lakers' back-to-back tomorrow in Atlanta. Anthony Davis said his hip injury limited him tonight and he would make his determination to play on Tuesday before the Hawks game.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 30, 2024

Watched that game this morning waiting for the NFL to start. None of the trades we’re talking about will put us in the same category as those dudes. We don’t have the horses and we don’t have the horses to go get the horses we would need. I’m feeling like we’re throwing good money after bad by trying to save this season. Truthfully, it was probably over as soon as we decided to go with this roster.

Then LBJ immediately committed 3 turnovers, missed 4 free throws, hit the side of the backboard with a 3, and got beat a buncha times on defense. And that’s just off the top of my head. Stats look great until you dive in a bit deeper. We only played 8 dudes and you could see the fatigue with LeBron in the 4th. Can’t play him all those minutes AND have him at pg AND have him trying to closeout on 3pt shooters. Gotta pick ur poison at this stage. .

I had friends and family literally ready to physically fight me when I would say that post-trade deadline run last year wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. The Denver series was more of a litmus test of where this team actually stacked up among contenders in this league. But the organization believed in the mirage as well and doubled down on it by bringing back the “core” and now wanna act surprised that we’re mired in quicksand. Gotta admit…D.Russell almost had me fooled into trusting him but he’s still the same dude he’s always been and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the source and the cause of the recent news coming from the locker room. Granted, Rui & Vando have been hurt but I don’t wanna hear about that coming from our Head Coach. Spo was visibly irritated when a reporter asked him about injuries after The Heat (with 19 different starting lineups so far) lost to the Clipps the other night before beating us down last game (that culture thing again). AR escapes criticism (a topic for another time & place) but he isn’t playing the same as he finished last year.

So here we sit…a sub .500 team…perhaps in quicksand. Trade? Who knows; can’t get too much worse. New coach? The season is half over; who’s the brilliant mind available to turn this around? We’ve been a revolving door at that spot for far too long now then we wonder why we can’t build continuity, culture, or identity….

It ain’t good……….

Here’s the reason why the excuses don’t fly with me: the oldest dude on the team..hell..the oldest mf’er in the whole damn league…played 37 min and went 34pts, 5 reb, & 8 dimes. While suffering some kinda flu symptoms.

Look, I don’t expect this supporting cast to match his talent or statistical output. But they gotta at least match his intensity & effort. The fact that it only happens about once every 2 or 3 weeks is troubling.