Final 30 games can they really qualify?

[Hans1984]

I don't see em making the play-ins.

[Sofa King]

Next game against the Pelicans is super important. But with the way AD has been playing and Lebrons injured foot, I am having doubts the team can even make it.

[zuju]

Watch on YouTube

Wow!!! Dlo actually has good awareness on D!!!

If Ham can run some defensive scheme up to this level, we are definitely in for at least play-in

Talent is here, needs time to gel though

[Kilroy]

AD still isn't right... Rui has no legit role... I feel like we're expecting too much from D'Lo and he's thinking he has more to contribute than he does... And our C rotation is broken.
All those things need to get fixed, and they can be, but I have a hard time believing it'll happen in time...
About the only thing we seem to have right at the moment, is Schroder's usage... Which is a big deal, but not enough, even if LeBron continues to play like he has...

We really needed that Portland win...

One of the most glaring indicators the current roster isn't healthy, IMO is how lost Reaves looks out there when he comes in the game... He looks like he has no clue what he's doing a lot of the time... Which is pretty scary for him, because up until I think the Rui trade, he always looked pretty solid, even if his shot wasn't falling... Now he looks like he's getting the ball when he has no idea what to do with it and he really has no idea where to go with or without it...

[zuju]

AD still isn't right... Rui has no legit role... I feel like we're expecting too much from D'Lo and he's thinking he has more to contribute than he does... And our C rotation is broken.
All those things need to get fixed, and they can be, but I have a hard time believing it'll happen in time...
About the only thing we seem to have right at the moment, is Schroder's usage... Which is a big deal, but not enough, even if LeBron continues to play like he has...

We really needed that Portland win...

One of the most glaring indicators the current roster isn't healthy, IMO is how lost Reaves looks out there when he comes in the game... He looks like he has no clue what he's doing a lot of the time... Which is pretty scary for him, because up until I think the Rui trade, he always looked pretty solid, even if his shot wasn't falling... Now he looks like he's getting the ball when he has no idea what to do with it and he really has no idea where to go with or without it...

Team has too much new face. It may not be the case that new players need to be integrated into new system. They may have a very different scheme offensive and defensively.

The cncerning point is time. They do not have a whole off seasn or training camp to practise. Thry have to get it going from the very first game.

James coming back will be a lot better. They can play some original sets (AD James pnr etc) and keep the team afloat. This buy some time to allow the team to gel. Defensively, it's challenging.

[LAKESHOW]

It always boils down to 1 thing.

AD

[Kilroy]

It always boils down to 1 thing.

AD

I say that a lot too... But I was thinking, reading this, maybe I should clarify... It's down to AD, but it's up to LeBron to realize he can't do it without AD and recognize he needs to do everything in his power to maximize AD... Including letting the rest of the team know AD needs to be option A the rest of the way out...

AD needs to grow a pair, but LeBron needs to stop being a stat-padding black hole also... There is zero reason for multiple possessions to go by without AD touching the ball in scoring position.

[TheHartBreakKid]

I actually think the bigger issue is/will be availability, vs quality, when it comes to both AD/Lebron.

Simply put, we can't afford either one of them to miss many more games. If they both play, even if Lebron is stat padding and AD is playing soft, I really think they'll get enough wins for the play-in, with the current roster around them and the RW problem being solved.

Do I think they'll have a chance to do anything in the playoffs if they are both available but playing like crap? Absoloutely not. We need 2020/earlier this season version of AD.

So yeah, ultimately the success of this team is on AD's play, and he needs to step it up, but I think even a last 4 games version of AD does enough on defense and on the boards to help this team win enough games, atleast for the regular season.

[TheHartBreakKid]

Somethings to note;

-The Jazz and Thunder play eachother 4 times in the remainder of the season. The Lakers also play the Jazz twice. Jazz schedule is really tough, and I see them dropping out of the race. They lost a lot of big contributors while gaining nothing back, even though the contributors weren't exactly lighting it up
-OKC has the second toughest schedule remaining (2 games the Lakers).
The Pelicans have the toughest schedule left, though up 4 games on the Laker's they'll be tough to catch up too (2 games against them could be important).
-Curry's injury seems problematic, and he won't play against the Lakers next thursday (and easily might not play in the second meeting on march 5th

The Lakers are in a good spot (for the Play-in) if they perform well in those 8 games, and you imo you don't need 2020 version of AD to win those games. You just need his presence, along with a healthy Lebron, and I think the rest of the team is more than competent enough to get it done.


All that said, this is only about qualifying for the play-in, and you would still need to win 2 more games, probably both on the road, against tough teams that should be healthy by then. Realistically, qualifying for the playoffs seems like a longshot, but I think they can make the play-in if they just remain healthy

[tamaraw08]

Somethings to note;

-The Jazz and Thunder play eachother 4 times in the remainder of the season. The Lakers also play the Jazz twice. Jazz schedule is really tough, and I see them dropping out of the race. They lost a lot of big contributors while gaining nothing back, even though the contributors weren't exactly lighting it up
-OKC has the second toughest schedule remaining (2 games the Lakers).
The Pelicans have the toughest schedule left, though up 4 games on the Laker's they'll be tough to catch up too (2 games against them could be important).
-Curry's injury seems problematic, and he won't play against the Lakers next thursday (and easily might not play in the second meeting on march 5th

The Lakers are in a good spot (for the Play-in) if they perform well in those 8 games, and you imo you don't need 2020 version of AD to win those games. You just need his presence, along with a healthy Lebron, and I think the rest of the team is more than competent enough to get it done.


All that said, this is only about qualifying for the play-in, and you would still need to win 2 more games, probably both on the road, against tough teams that should be healthy by then. Realistically, qualifying for the playoffs seems like a longshot, but I think they can make the play-in if they just remain healthy

They need to leapfrog 3 teams just to get to 10th spot? Portland also will miss 3 starters with Simons injuring his ankle. I don’t know how TWolves are Winning after losing 2 good players, beating the Mavs…
I still remember last season with the Lakers still alive but needed to beat the Pelicans at home, told myself no way Lebron would let his team lose esp at home but they did

[Ball so hard]

It always boils down to 1 thing.

AD

Agree. IMO he’s easily the most frustrated player on the roster. I feel like we’ve been singing the same tune with regard to AD for the past few year… dominant stretches, then he gets hurt and return as a shell of his pre injury self, mentally checks out during certain stretches, etc. One thing that’s abundantly clear to me is that there’s no way anyone should ever consider building a team around AD. There’s just no way a player of his caliber should be on a team this bad.

[ROballer]

And by the beginning of March, the schedule gets ridiculously easy. I mean really, between March 5th and 26th we play 10 of 12 games at home, and those two games on the road are against the Rockets and Pelicans.

Only Golden State(which we always used to beat at home, even when they were waaay better then they are now) and Memphis(which we already beat recently) are to be considered difficult matchups.

I can easily see a 9-3/10-2 record in this stretch.

Then we close the season with 6 games in April, 4 being against Utah(twice), Houston and Minnesota.

The worst has clearly passed.

I already adress this a while ago.
People need to stop overreacting and look at the damn schedule, which is in our favor.

We just need Lebron to pull his head out of his ass and stop missing games, it's that simple.
This new roster was constructed around him, stop fooling around and play the damn games.
I don't buy the ankle issues, he just needed a vacation after passing Kareem.

March and April are ridiculously easy months scheduling wise for us, we can pile up the wins in bunches. We'll be fine.

[crazy8ights]

Gah I stayed of my phone after that blazer lost needed that