…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—–

What’s Priority #1 for the Lakers this summer?

Ask different people and you’ll hear a variety of answers. Most
will say filling the Center position. Others might say improving perimeter defense. Some would tell you we need more depth overall. Still others would emphasize retaining draft capital and flexibility to build around Luka in the future.

They’re all incorrect.

The #1 priority (hell…the ONLY priority) is to make sure Luka signs that extension A.S.A.fukkinP. So far, Rob and the FO have failed to do anything that would make that a forgone conclusion. Despite the pending sale of the team, it’s been the same ol Rob. Let’s not forget…Luka didn’t choose to come here; he was traded in humiliating fashion. He has no history, no ties, no roots…he could easily walk away to what he perceives to be a better situation.

The Lakers can’t sit around waiting for Mark Walter to come in and fix everything. The clock is running for the franchise to prove to Luka that he can trust them and agree to stay here long term. Otherwise, this thing has the potential to turn into a disaster.

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