Let’s put to rest the Lakers are good narrative

[lessthanjake]

AD and LeBron are both going to be all-NBA this very season.

Let's assume this fantasy take is true. Domas and Fox were All-NBA 3rd team last year. That's about the level Lakers are and were this season, too. Sacramento. Not Denver, not Minnesota, not Boston. Sacramento. That's how many games they won in the RS, too. One more than Sacramento.

AD is probably going to be all-NBA second team this year. So it’s not really like the Kings. Not to mention that LeBron is better than Fox or Sabonis. With AD and LeBron we aren’t talking about all-NBA guys that snuck in there once. These are guys that are no stranger to all-NBA, and they will both make it this year.

[SomeBunghole]

These are guys that are no stranger to all-NBA, and they will both make it this year.

If AD makes it to any NBA team, it'll be because Embiid is ineligible. Not because he's a top 15 player in this league, or even that he had a better season this year than last.

We can split hairs here, but two borderline All-NBA players past their prime do not a contender make.

The contenders, not at all coincidentally, are the very teams that had guys on the All-NBA first team last year. Plus, of course, Denver since Jokić was ludicrously passed over for Embiid.

[NZB2323]

Last year they had the best record in the league after the Westbrook trade and made it to the WCF. This year they made the playoffs and are up against the defending champions.

I guess it depends on how you define “good.”

[MoreyWins]

Lakers could put up a real fight against other West teams in the playoffs, but they aren't beating Denver with their roster or coaching staff. There's no way for them to get over that hump.

[NZB2323]

These are guys that are no stranger to all-NBA, and they will both make it this year.

If AD makes it to any NBA team, it'll be because Embiid is ineligible. Not because he's a top 15 player in this league, or even that he had a better season this year than last.

We can split hairs here, but two borderline All-NBA players past their prime do not a contender make.

The contenders, not at all coincidentally, are the very teams that had guys on the All-NBA first team last year. Plus, of course, Denver since Jokić was ludicrously passed over for Embiid.

Right now AD is making the 2nd team. Maybe he gets bumped to 3rd with Embiid, but he still makes it.

[Jta444]

They are good and talented but they are not going anywhere with Lebron’s bad leadership. They need a veteran leader on that team and a bit more defensive players. Reaves is good. Drop Dlo and replace him with a good defensive guard. That team still beats everyone in the West except Nuggets.

[Mak]

Can't wait to pretend they are good again in September.

[Big_Aristotle]

Lakers are good, the defending champions Nuggets are just better.

[AussieCeltic]

Last year they had the best record in the league after the Westbrook trade and made it to the WCF. This year they made the playoffs and are up against the defending champions.

I guess it depends on how you define “good.”

26-29 vs teams over .500 this season and that’s with AD and Lebron being healthy most the year.

They were 1 game from being a 10 seed and potentially not even making the playoffs.

Middle of the pack offense and defense. This was just an average team in a big market with an ageing superstar with too much hype.

[WentzerWuver]

They are not a legit NBA championship contender.

They haven’t been since 2020.

LeBron and AD seem like an elite duo but LeBron is old as and coasts more than ever on D. Maybe advanced stats etc say otherwise but a younger LeBron was far more capable of dragging mediocre rosters further.

It has zero to do with coaching.

Sure they could have a better supporting cast around their stars but that’s easier said than done.

Can we finally stop treating this team year after year like they are elite? It isn’t 2020 anymore.

Just cause they can not beat the Nuggets due to matchup, you resort to creating this outlandish thread?

Like you really thought they should beat the Nuggets when smart sports guys had known from the beginning they would most likely be sweep by this team. I even suggest they should purposely lose to the Pelicans and have created a thread with them as the obvious sweep candidates, yet many fans still chose the Heat like noobs.

Let's get something straight - Lakers are legit and can dominate against most playoff teams except the Nuggets. No team will rebuild just cause they cannot beat one team otherwise just about every team will need to start over as well im I right Lol. So just stop overreacting and hope the Lakers can do the right thing by setting themselves up to not play them until they reach the conference finals like last year.

[remiga007]

Lakers are not dominating any playoff level teams. They are who they are, an 8th seed. Now sometimes seeding is deceiving because of injuries, or when team coasts much during RS. However they have been quite healthy, and coasting are teams who don't put everything into getting number one seed but are happy with 3rd or 4th. Lakers barely got to 8th and almost were 10th, they were not coasting, just not really that good all year. I think they're really like 7th-8th best team in NBA which is still nice but nowhere near best teams.

[Lockdown504090]

Denver has better basketball players than the lakers and the supporting cast matters more in 2024 basketball than it ever has.

[brutalitops]

3 years ago 47 wins gets you the 3/4 seed. They are a decent team. If you thought they were any better then that or the type to take so much offense to it you make threads on forums about it, you are the type of *** the media panders to and have made in general the sports media worse.

[GrandTheftRondo]

Lakers are good, the defending champions Nuggets are just better.

Good teams don’t finish in the play in

[nikster]

Lakers are good, the defending champions Nuggets are just better.

Good teams don’t finish in the play in

The eastern conference finalist was in the play in last year

[GrandTheftRondo]

Lakers are good, the defending champions Nuggets are just better.

Good teams don’t finish in the play in

The eastern conference finalist was in the play in last year

Once off event.

Struggling to get past that year after year says a lot about the talent level of the team

[SA37]

What’s funny is I actually think they could have beaten just about every other West team except Denver.

Dallas and Minnesota would likely win but it wouldn’t be this overwhelming thing like it is this series. Everyone else, the Lakers had a shot.

Denver is making them look worse than they are

This.

The Lakers are a good team, but they're playing the champions that feature the (likely) MVP this year. They've blown leads, but it isn't like they've been dominated. These series where you have 2 incredibly strong teams generally come down to coaching adjustments, timely role player performances (which the Lakers have not gotten consistently), and some hot shooting.

On the role players:

Lakers GM 1: Russell 6-20 and 11 total bench points
Lakers GM2: Hachimura 1-7 and 6 total bench points
Lakers GM3: Russell 0-7 and the Lakers shot 18% from 3. (The only team shooting worse from 3 than the Lakers -- 28.7% so far -- is Phoenix at 25%)

[bledredwine]

It’s a terrible matchup as well. They’ve lost how many in a row? That said, respect to Davis. He’s been awesome.

[Ice Man]

The Lakers *are* pretty good. But they're playing Denver. In their past 5 playoff series, the Nuggets have waxed an up-and-coming Minnesota squad, an attempted superteam in Phoenix, the Lakers, the Eastern Conference champs, and then the Lakers again. Winning is what Denver does.

[druggas]

Pretty rich coming from a Celts fan. Doesn't your team have a narrative of choking?