Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
Moderators: Kilroy, Danny Darko, TyCobb
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
-
- Junior
- Posts: 280
- And1: 23
- Joined: Aug 04, 2016
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
Another thing to remember is our draft pick...
Our schedule is so difficult in the beginning and if we are far off by the ASG, they might tanked, so we can keep the top 3 pick in a loaded draft class.
Our schedule is so difficult in the beginning and if we are far off by the ASG, they might tanked, so we can keep the top 3 pick in a loaded draft class.
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
-
- Sophomore
- Posts: 177
- And1: 16
- Joined: Aug 08, 2016
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
From a talent perspective i think this team is worse than every single wc team. However chemistry, fit and this new system could mean alot to improvement of the team
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
- Danny Darko
- Forum Mod - Lakers
- Posts: 18,607
- And1: 5,968
- Joined: Jun 24, 2005
-
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
Pelicans added Rob Sacre... I want to add them to my list now.

Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
-
- RealGM
- Posts: 24,030
- And1: 24,365
- Joined: Jun 28, 2014
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
DEEP3CL wrote:It's not as an impossible feat as you may think. The Lakers have actually done this before in their history. They made a 13 game win improvement from a 47-35 record posted in 1978-79 to a 60-22 record in 79-80. The biggest jump in franchise history was 15 game win improvement from a 33-49 record in 1993-94 to 48-34 in 94-95.Pointgod wrote:A 10 game improvement is pretty significant in the NBA. Doubling our win total is a huge stretch.
The common denominator in each improvement was a coaching change prior to each improvement, hoping that omen works again.
With all due respect I don't believe you can compare a 47 win team with Kareem Abdul Jabbar that added rookie Magic Johnson the next year to our current team. I'll give you 93-94 team as a good example but even then that team seemed to have a strong veteran presence.
Our team is not going to be very good and I'm okay with that. There's no huge benefit to trying to win this season. Our main focus should be to keep our draft pick, get our young guys experience and build chemistry.
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
-
- Sixth Man
- Posts: 1,920
- And1: 218
- Joined: Aug 31, 2001
-
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
Pointgod wrote:DEEP3CL wrote:It's not as an impossible feat as you may think. The Lakers have actually done this before in their history. They made a 13 game win improvement from a 47-35 record posted in 1978-79 to a 60-22 record in 79-80. The biggest jump in franchise history was 15 game win improvement from a 33-49 record in 1993-94 to 48-34 in 94-95.Pointgod wrote:A 10 game improvement is pretty significant in the NBA. Doubling our win total is a huge stretch.
The common denominator in each improvement was a coaching change prior to each improvement, hoping that omen works again.
With all due respect I don't believe you can compare a 47 win team with Kareem Abdul Jabbar that added rookie Magic Johnson the next year to our current team. I'll give you 93-94 team as a good example but even then that team seemed to have a strong veteran presence.
Our team is not going to be very good and I'm okay with that. There's no huge benefit to trying to win this season. Our main focus should be to keep our draft pick, get our young guys experience and build chemistry.
I agree with the first paragraph and the team with Kareem that drafted Magic isn't the greatest of examples. However, I have to disagree with the second paragraph and keeping a top 3 pick should never be a focus of any team.
I understand the advantages of that pick but we have to Trust the process and let our guys play the best they can. If Russell breaks out, if Ingram has a ROY year, if Deng and Mozgov gives that needed veteran stability, we may not make the playoffs, but we will significantly increase the win total. It would be counterproductive for the development of the young players to let them experience losing basketball. Having them play well and still end up winning the same number of games may severely hamper their development and their confidence.
Sure if we're close enough to the level of bottom 3 without intentionally doing so, then maybe we help that along later on. But to focus on doing that from the start is counterproductive and not gonna happen.
To put into context the game improvement, it's much easier to improve wins from a bad team than on an average team. Adding a rookie magic Johnson would give a bad team more than the 13 wins he added to that team with Kareem.
This team did not add a Magic Johnson. We have no idea how Ingram can impact the team on his first year but the Lakers were so dysfunctional last season that a better system can significantly improve the record without even adding players.
Too many variables. If we have good chemistry and improve our defensive system, that in itself will merit more wins. Before we even intentionally try to tank, we better make sure that we know what it takes to win. Or at least make sure that we don't have what it takes to do so.
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
-
- RealGM
- Posts: 15,140
- And1: 6,789
- Joined: Jan 02, 2012
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
-
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
It is hard to say because i do see us as part of the same group as Den, Phoenix, and Sac. It is hard to imagine Phoenix not dealing with injury issues again, so it would be a safe bet to assume we might have a better record than one of those teams by season end.
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
-
- Veteran
- Posts: 2,670
- And1: 1,359
- Joined: May 11, 2015
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
I'm thinking better than Sac, Denver, and Pheonix for sure. That Pelican roster looks pretty pathetic outside of Anthony Davis. I think they are going to try to get a high pick this season to use as bait to get Anthony Davis some help. Might be wishful thinking but I think we are fighting for an eight seed most of the season, and we will be tinkering in the .500 w/l column. We got youth and we got energy, and our youth isn't typical...they are high iq players in randle, russell, clarkson, and ingram. I think we slowly ease Ingram in, and increase his minutes depending on how he adapts. I think our utmost ceiling is 6th seed, but I'm hoping for that 8th spot at least.
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
-
- Lead Assistant
- Posts: 4,993
- And1: 1,958
- Joined: Dec 20, 2015
-
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
I think there will be about 5-6 teams in the West that we will be right there with. Suns, Kings, Jazz, Hornets, Nuggets, and I'd put the Mavs, and possibly the Rockets in that tier just slightly above us. Assuming a healthy roster....assuming even just SLIGHT personal improvement from last season by our young guys, and assuming our coach isn't a disaster...I see us right in the thick with those teams, and any one of them/us can win on any given night.
The focus needs to be on our youth getting playing time, but I think it will be very hard for us to keep that #3 pick.
Trust me...I'm not 'captain sunny' over here. I'm not happy with our FA pickups at all. It' could have been worse, but it certainly coulda been much better. I am not completely sold that somehow Luke doing good with last years Warriors will translate to this team. Steering a luxury car on cruise control, and building a kit-car are two completely different animals. I also realize that we have alot of youth...and while some should rise to the top....you inevitably get a sinker or two.
That said, we do have a nice core of youth that does have experience at this point. It's not all rookies. I think our coach will be better than the last, if just because the players will buy in more. Even if its just that little thing....it will be an improvement. I see us being better than the Suns, and Kings. I don't see the Jazz or Nuggets having anything that we don't. 17 wins is pretty hard to do...even with a bad roster. I don't think we will be bottom 3 in the West...and there will be 1-2 teams in the East as well, Im sure.
The focus needs to be on our youth getting playing time, but I think it will be very hard for us to keep that #3 pick.
Trust me...I'm not 'captain sunny' over here. I'm not happy with our FA pickups at all. It' could have been worse, but it certainly coulda been much better. I am not completely sold that somehow Luke doing good with last years Warriors will translate to this team. Steering a luxury car on cruise control, and building a kit-car are two completely different animals. I also realize that we have alot of youth...and while some should rise to the top....you inevitably get a sinker or two.
That said, we do have a nice core of youth that does have experience at this point. It's not all rookies. I think our coach will be better than the last, if just because the players will buy in more. Even if its just that little thing....it will be an improvement. I see us being better than the Suns, and Kings. I don't see the Jazz or Nuggets having anything that we don't. 17 wins is pretty hard to do...even with a bad roster. I don't think we will be bottom 3 in the West...and there will be 1-2 teams in the East as well, Im sure.
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
- Dr Aki
- RealGM
- Posts: 35,684
- And1: 31,924
- Joined: Mar 03, 2008
- Location: Sydney, Australia
-
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
depending on how well the lakers finally start to play defense, anywhere from no teams to 3 teams (phoenix, sacramento and denver)
that said, i've got my money on no western teams, it'll be ugly and it'll stay ugly all the way up to the lakers winning between 21-24 games
we might end up with the 2nd worst record overall (over brooklyn)
that said, i've got my money on no western teams, it'll be ugly and it'll stay ugly all the way up to the lakers winning between 21-24 games
we might end up with the 2nd worst record overall (over brooklyn)

Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
- Edrees
- RealGM
- Posts: 17,211
- And1: 12,426
- Joined: May 12, 2009
- Contact:
-
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
Pointgod wrote:TylersLakers wrote:1- Golden State (67 W)
2- San Antonio (62 W)
3- LA Clippers (60 W)
4- Portland (54 W)
5- Memphis (55 W)
6- Oklahoma City (50 W)
7- Utah (48 W)
8- Dallas (45 W)
9- Minnesota (42 W)
10- Houston (38 W)
11- Phoenix (36 W)
12- LA Lakers (34 W)
13- Denver (29 W)
14- New Orleans (28 W)
15- Sacramento (20 W)
A 10 game improvement is pretty significant in the NBA. Doubling our win total is a huge stretch. The only team I could maybe see being worse than us is Sacramento if they completely implode and Cousins murders someone. Every other team was already better than us and adding Ingram, Deng and Mozgov isn't going to do much to move the needle.
Well the less wins you have the easier it is to get a 10 win improvement. It's tough for a playoff team but I don't think it's as unlikely for a bottom 2 record team.
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
- DEEP3CL
- RealGM
- Posts: 27,899
- And1: 3,207
- Joined: Jul 23, 2005
- Location: LOS ANGELES,CA.
-
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
Yeah but here's the thing that almost everyone forgets with that 79-80 Lakers team that added Magic, it still wasn't the picture perfect team they ended up becoming. Secondly I know it was obvious that they would improve but no one actually knew that at the time, like I said the common denominator in both improvements was the hiring of coaches. And to break it down even more only Del Harris was the more experienced coach hired to see those changes.Pointgod wrote:DEEP3CL wrote:It's not as an impossible feat as you may think. The Lakers have actually done this before in their history. They made a 13 game win improvement from a 47-35 record posted in 1978-79 to a 60-22 record in 79-80. The biggest jump in franchise history was 15 game win improvement from a 33-49 record in 1993-94 to 48-34 in 94-95.Pointgod wrote:A 10 game improvement is pretty significant in the NBA. Doubling our win total is a huge stretch.
The common denominator in each improvement was a coaching change prior to each improvement, hoping that omen works again.
With all due respect I don't believe you can compare a 47 win team with Kareem Abdul Jabbar that added rookie Magic Johnson the next year to our current team. I'll give you 93-94 team as a good example but even then that team seemed to have a strong veteran presence.
Our team is not going to be very good and I'm okay with that. There's no huge benefit to trying to win this season. Our main focus should be to keep our draft pick, get our young guys experience and build chemistry.
The 79-80 team had just hired a long time assistant in Jack McKinney who like Luke had never been a head coach before. And even in his first 14 games as the Lakers head man the team only posted a 10-4 record which proves my point of no one knowing how good they would be.
So you just can't blatantly say that just because the Lakers drafted Magic that they got better, like I said most don't remember those early days under McKinney like I do. The team had several flaws that was a carry over from the previous season also. The Lakers were average and lack depth at the PF position and lacked depth at the point guard spot...only having the 2nd year veteran Norm Nixon and 2 rookies( Magic and Brad Holland )along with Butch Lee (1 yr exp) who didn't play much at all so the team was effectively playing with only 2 lead guards that they happen to have both start ! My comparison is valid with the point being they changed coaches, and the 79-80 team actually changed coaches twice really, because McKinney ended up getting injured in a bike accident and assistant Paul Westhead had to take over and even he tweaked some things that McKinney did...and that's really when Showtime was born.
Fact is McKinney's time was so brief people forget he was the coach who started that season.
Also I'd strongly disagree with the 94-95 team having " a strong veteran presence", the vets they had were well past their primes and didn't play much. Kurt Rambis, Sedale Threatt, Sam Bowie and Lester Connor were not star players in the leagues but they were good pros. I agree with it in theory about the vets being a presence but they didn't help all that much in terms of winning games, it was the youth that was better.
That teams turn around was solely on the shoulders of players with 5 or less years of experience.The top 6 scorers on that 94-95 team that won 48 games ranged from age 26 or younger. Also Threatt was the only vet that played more than 20 minutes a game.
My point being is this....much like that team this Laker team will have to live and die with their youth.
VETERAN LAKERS FAN
SmartWentCrazy wrote:It's extremely unlikely that they end up in the top 3.They're probably better off trying to win and giving Philly the 8th pick than tanking and giving them the 4th.
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
-
- Rookie
- Posts: 1,002
- And1: 225
- Joined: Sep 15, 2015
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
Every team, besides MAYBE the kings, have more talent that us. We have 0 players who can play defense and hardly any "for sure" shooters.
IMO, We're the last team in the West this year, which hopefully is a blessing come lottory time next season.
IMO, We're the last team in the West this year, which hopefully is a blessing come lottory time next season.
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
- Fresh360Waves
- Veteran
- Posts: 2,648
- And1: 339
- Joined: Aug 01, 2013
- Location: City of Angels
-
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
RingsDontLie wrote:I'm thinking better than Sac, Denver, and Pheonix for sure. That Pelican roster looks pretty pathetic outside of Anthony Davis. I think they are going to try to get a high pick this season to use as bait to get Anthony Davis some help. Might be wishful thinking but I think we are fighting for an eight seed most of the season, and we will be tinkering in the .500 w/l column. We got youth and we got energy, and our youth isn't typical...they are high iq players in randle, russell, clarkson, and ingram. I think we slowly ease Ingram in, and increase his minutes depending on how he adapts. I think our utmost ceiling is 6th seed, but I'm hoping for that 8th spot at least.
Pelicans have no clue what they're doing. Asik on a terrible contract they won't be able to move plus he doesn't even fit the scheme they're trying to run, overpaid Solomon Hill and he can't even shoot (could've found a plus defender for way cheaper), Buddy Hield will be a solid player once he learns to play in control and not chuck. Anthony Davis also needs to stay healthy and be reliable himself. I believe he hasn't played a full season yet so far. Time to dump Dell Demps and get a GM that won't rot AD's prime away.
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
- BEazy
- RealGM
- Posts: 10,101
- And1: 2,497
- Joined: Aug 06, 2010
-
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
No more tanking! I can't take another tanking season...

Long Live The Black Mamba. Kobe Bean Bryant Laker For Life. 8/24
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
-
- Sophomore
- Posts: 177
- And1: 16
- Joined: Aug 08, 2016
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
ScHoolBoy B wrote:No more tanking! I can't take another tanking season...
I agree here but could be 2 for 1...keep the pick and jim bob can go away
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
-
- Junior
- Posts: 280
- And1: 23
- Joined: Aug 04, 2016
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
I think Luke said it indirectly to the media not to expect the results now/this season, rather, built a good environment/system for the team to flourish in the future.
The best case scenario would be to just miss the playoffs as a 9th seed and luck out in the lottery with a top 3 pick and drafting one of the top wing players next year and signing solid vets next summer in FA. However, more likely than not, due to our team's draft pick being top 3 protected, I can definitely see Jim telling Luke to rest some key guys to lose purposely or in PC terms, "gain experience."
since we have so much to lose with the draft pick in a loaded class vs potentially winning a few games over.
The best case scenario would be to just miss the playoffs as a 9th seed and luck out in the lottery with a top 3 pick and drafting one of the top wing players next year and signing solid vets next summer in FA. However, more likely than not, due to our team's draft pick being top 3 protected, I can definitely see Jim telling Luke to rest some key guys to lose purposely or in PC terms, "gain experience."
since we have so much to lose with the draft pick in a loaded class vs potentially winning a few games over.
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
- Danny Darko
- Forum Mod - Lakers
- Posts: 18,607
- And1: 5,968
- Joined: Jun 24, 2005
-
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
I would guess that the lakers and Luke are specifically, and actually, banking on building a feel good situation by years end by stringing wins together later. I would bet that Jim needs this as much as anybody, Luke knows Jim doesn't get to influence rotations because his sister would have his ass and he's already on super secret probation, and the kids are talented enough with some brains to realize they have young team 1-5 so another high pick could mean any of their butts are bench fodder if it's a lottery pick deemed more talented or highly touted.
It would have to be a serious run for worst record ever for that to happen. Swami doesn't see a tank and even a 9th worst record should summarily be considered the 76ers.
More on topic, I see us, therefore, better than a team with more to gain on the tank and a coach that isn't hell bent on starting a legacy of winning, and DOES tank. Two of Denver, Sac, Phoenix
It would have to be a serious run for worst record ever for that to happen. Swami doesn't see a tank and even a 9th worst record should summarily be considered the 76ers.
More on topic, I see us, therefore, better than a team with more to gain on the tank and a coach that isn't hell bent on starting a legacy of winning, and DOES tank. Two of Denver, Sac, Phoenix

Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
-
- General Manager
- Posts: 9,146
- And1: 2,001
- Joined: Jul 04, 2016
-
Re: Western conference teams Lakers will be better than
I'm not sure we jump anyone. We will get much closer to the second to last place team however.