GAMETHREAD ... Lakers VS Kings Today

[Hans1984]

Both teams deserved to lose this game. Lebron played terrible. We need to blow this team up.

[Landsberger]

Well.... this team could be at the bottom of the Pacific Division soon.

Putting Melo and Westbrook on the same team magnifies their lack of BBIQ by 10X. They can blind with stats but their team's cannot overcome their self centered mentalities.

Surrounding them with single dimension players magnifies how bad the entire NBA has gotten. The 3 point shot dominates how teams play. Davis shoots 70% in the paint yet he shoots 3 pointers and the coach encourages it. Math quiz: how many 3 point attempts do you need to score 100 points shooting 35% from 3 vs shooting 69% from 2? Equate that to possessions....

[Braggins]

Monk is a keeper. If he develops some consistent defense he'll be a Laker for a long time.

His defense has improved by leaps and bounds just in the past three games. I have never seen him move around and use his hands the way he is tonight. You have to give the coaching staff some credit there, too.

His defense looked as bad as Ive ever seen it at the beginning of the season this year. When you are already a weak defender being unfamiliar with your teammates and a new system really exacerbates the issues he already has. If he can get back to the level he played defense last year (which still isn't good tbh) and gets his 3pt percentage up a little bit he'll be on track for another nice season. He seems to have mostly regained his pre-covid athleticism and seems focused. Monk still has some limitations, but he should continue to be a solid option to help grease the wheels of any offense for 20-25 mpg.

I expect his 3pt shooting to trend up the more he plays with Lebron. Westbrook is kind of a bad fit with Monk because he just likes to pound the ball until he can take a bad shot or throw it to a cutter/rim runner for the assist. He doesn't do any of the advanced read stuff that Lebron does to get the ball to open shooters on kickouts. Ive also noticed whenever Monk/Westbrook share the floor, Westbrook always takes the easiest defensive assignment, which forces Monk to guard better players than you really want him matched up with sometimes, and is just kind of pathetic considering Westbrook is like the most physically gifted player of all time at at his position. I honestly didn't realize how incredibly bad Westbrooks defense was until this year.

Edit: This isn't a Monk specific thing and affects all of LA's shooters, but it annoys the hell out of me that whenever Carmelo is in the game he always waves everyone off whatever the prime spot up position is on any given play, then proceeds to camp there the entire play and pretty much always lets it fly if the ball gets swung to him, regardless of whether or not hes open.

[Pythagoras]

Lebron still has moments of individual dominance over short stretches, but I find myself wondering if the days of him consistently playing like a top 5 player for heavy minutes over the course of a whole season are too much to ask. It’s reminiscent of Duncan in the latter years, when he was still elite, and could be dominant in short spurts.

I hope Rob is working the phones right now.

[euphorbus]

Lebron still has moments of individual dominance over short stretches, but I find myself wondering if the days of him consistently playing like a top 5 player for heavy minutes over the course of a whole season are too much to ask. It’s reminiscent of Duncan in the latter years, when he was still elite, and could be dominant in short spurts.

I hope Rob is working the phones right now.

Considering that he played 43 minutes on Wednesday, and 50 last night, he has to be spent. Westbrook played 40 and 51, Anthony 30 and 43, Monk 34 and 44. Malik is a lot younger, of course.

[Pythagoras]

Lebron still has moments of individual dominance over short stretches, but I find myself wondering if the days of him consistently playing like a top 5 player for heavy minutes over the course of a whole season are too much to ask. It’s reminiscent of Duncan in the latter years, when he was still elite, and could be dominant in short spurts.

I hope Rob is working the phones right now.

Considering that he played 43 minutes on Wednesday, and 50 last night, he has to be spent. Westbrook played 40 and 51, Anthony 30 and 43, Monk 34 and 44. Malik is a lot younger, of course.

Agreed. I can't even be mad at Lebron. Dude has a METRIC ton of miles on his body already. Lakers need to add a couple of guys who can help take some more pressure off him.

[JVL]

It's a throwaway season, best to trim the fat next season where possible and build around AD, as much as I think he's not the guy you can build around.

And I'm saying this as a staunch Lebron fan. I had hoped he could quit on a high, on a title run where he's still one of the top players in the league, but those days are over: it's not possible with this team and it's unthinkable that he'd be a top player on a title team age 38.5 in June 2023.

Too bad it has to end like this. He definitely still has a year or 3 in him, which is honestly wild considering his mileage, but on limited minutes and not as the number 1 guy on the team. He's gonna waste his last dominant season on this **** roster with a number 2 guy who seemingly lost his will to play ball. AD has been a **** disgrace.

[Pythagoras]

It's a throwaway season, best to trim the fat next season where possible and build around AD, as much as I think he's not the guy you can build around.

And I'm saying this as a staunch Lebron fan. I had hoped he could quit on a high, on a title run where he's still one of the top players in the league, but those days are over: it's not possible with this team and it's unthinkable that he'd be a top player on a title team age 38.5 in June 2023.

Too bad it has to end like this. He definitely still has a year or 3 in him, which is honestly wild considering his mileage, but on limited minutes and not as the number 1 guy on the team. He's gonna waste his last dominant season on this **** roster with a number 2 guy who seemingly lost his will to play ball. AD has been a **** disgrace.

Giving up on the season after only 21 games is some weak ass sauce. I get that we’re all down about this disappointing start but have more Laker pride than that.

[Ball so hard]

Building around AD will ensure you’ll be stuck in mediocrity. You trade AD if you decide to rebuild.

[JVL]

It's a throwaway season, best to trim the fat next season where possible and build around AD, as much as I think he's not the guy you can build around.

And I'm saying this as a staunch Lebron fan. I had hoped he could quit on a high, on a title run where he's still one of the top players in the league, but those days are over: it's not possible with this team and it's unthinkable that he'd be a top player on a title team age 38.5 in June 2023.

Too bad it has to end like this. He definitely still has a year or 3 in him, which is honestly wild considering his mileage, but on limited minutes and not as the number 1 guy on the team. He's gonna waste his last dominant season on this **** roster with a number 2 guy who seemingly lost his will to play ball. AD has been a **** disgrace.

Giving up on the season after only 21 games is some weak ass sauce. I get that we’re all down about this disappointing start but have more Laker pride than that.

It takes only 21 games to know this roster is a steaming pile of garbage. We're not a treadmill team fighting for the play-ins. Have some **** pride.

[Pythagoras]

It's a throwaway season, best to trim the fat next season where possible and build around AD, as much as I think he's not the guy you can build around.

And I'm saying this as a staunch Lebron fan. I had hoped he could quit on a high, on a title run where he's still one of the top players in the league, but those days are over: it's not possible with this team and it's unthinkable that he'd be a top player on a title team age 38.5 in June 2023.

Too bad it has to end like this. He definitely still has a year or 3 in him, which is honestly wild considering his mileage, but on limited minutes and not as the number 1 guy on the team. He's gonna waste his last dominant season on this **** roster with a number 2 guy who seemingly lost his will to play ball. AD has been a **** disgrace.

Giving up on the season after only 21 games is some weak ass sauce. I get that we’re all down about this disappointing start but have more Laker pride than that.

It takes only 21 games to know this roster is a steaming pile of garbage. We're not a treadmill team fighting for the play-ins. Have some **** pride.

The Hawks started last season at 14-20 before making a run to the conference finals. This team still has 3 all NBA caliber players on it. Quitting on the season after 21 games is lame as hell.

[TwoStarz]

Monk is a keeper. If he develops some consistent defense he'll be a Laker for a long time.

His defense has improved by leaps and bounds just in the past three games. I have never seen him move around and use his hands the way he is tonight. You have to give the coaching staff some credit there, too.

His defense looked as bad as Ive ever seen it at the beginning of the season this year. When you are already a weak defender being unfamiliar with your teammates and a new system really exacerbates the issues he already has. If he can get back to the level he played defense last year (which still isn't good tbh) and gets his 3pt percentage up a little bit he'll be on track for another nice season. He seems to have mostly regained his pre-covid athleticism and seems focused. Monk still has some limitations, but he should continue to be a solid option to help grease the wheels of any offense for 20-25 mpg.

I expect his 3pt shooting to trend up the more he plays with Lebron. Westbrook is kind of a bad fit with Monk because he just likes to pound the ball until he can take a bad shot or throw it to a cutter/rim runner for the assist. He doesn't do any of the advanced read stuff that Lebron does to get the ball to open shooters on kickouts. Ive also noticed whenever Monk/Westbrook share the floor, Westbrook always takes the easiest defensive assignment, which forces Monk to guard better players than you really want him matched up with sometimes, and is just kind of pathetic considering Westbrook is like the most physically gifted player of all time at at his position. I honestly didn't realize how incredibly bad Westbrooks defense was until this year.

Edit: This isn't a Monk specific thing and affects all of LA's shooters, but it annoys the hell out of me that whenever Carmelo is in the game he always waves everyone off whatever the prime spot up position is on any given play, then proceeds to camp there the entire play and pretty much always lets it fly if the ball gets swung to him, regardless of whether or not hes open.

The last point about Carmelo is hilarious. I’ve seen him do that too, switch positions on the court so he is one pass away from the main action. This encapsulates Melo perfectly; selfish, low IQ and loser

[Braggins]

Spoiler:

His defense has improved by leaps and bounds just in the past three games. I have never seen him move around and use his hands the way he is tonight. You have to give the coaching staff some credit there, too.

His defense looked as bad as Ive ever seen it at the beginning of the season this year. When you are already a weak defender being unfamiliar with your teammates and a new system really exacerbates the issues he already has. If he can get back to the level he played defense last year (which still isn't good tbh) and gets his 3pt percentage up a little bit he'll be on track for another nice season. He seems to have mostly regained his pre-covid athleticism and seems focused. Monk still has some limitations, but he should continue to be a solid option to help grease the wheels of any offense for 20-25 mpg.

I expect his 3pt shooting to trend up the more he plays with Lebron. Westbrook is kind of a bad fit with Monk because he just likes to pound the ball until he can take a bad shot or throw it to a cutter/rim runner for the assist. He doesn't do any of the advanced read stuff that Lebron does to get the ball to open shooters on kickouts. Ive also noticed whenever Monk/Westbrook share the floor, Westbrook always takes the easiest defensive assignment, which forces Monk to guard better players than you really want him matched up with sometimes, and is just kind of pathetic considering Westbrook is like the most physically gifted player of all time at at his position. I honestly didn't realize how incredibly bad Westbrooks defense was until this year.

Edit: This isn't a Monk specific thing and affects all of LA's shooters, but it annoys the hell out of me that whenever Carmelo is in the game he always waves everyone off whatever the prime spot up position is on any given play, then proceeds to camp there the entire play and pretty much always lets it fly if the ball gets swung to him, regardless of whether or not hes open.

The last point about Carmelo is hilarious. I’ve seen him do that too, switch positions on the court so he is one pass away from the main action. This encapsulates Melo perfectly; selfish, low IQ and loser

Yeah, it was hard to complain about when he was on that insane hot streak where he was actually hitting tons of contested shots, but the dude has absolutely no discretion and is starting to come back down to earth, so its just irritating to see him wave Ellington and Monk off a spot and then just launch a tightly contested 3pter when the ball clearly needed to keep moving.

Seems like Melo and Westbrook are the only two players who can't/won't play within the flow of the offense. When those two are on the court together its a roller coaster ride that I can't imagine anyone enjoying most of the time.

[Kilroy]

Its clear there's something wrong with this team... It's not just the talent either... There should be enough there, even at their collective ages, to at least contend for a championship... It's something less tangible...
Most of us have been Lakers fans for a while and seen a lot of championship teams... You know it when you are watching one... There's a spirit or a vibe there that just makes everything click, even on bad nights... We had it the first season we got AD, it's completely gone now... This is a team of separate entities trying to look like a team but really only caring about themselves...

Vogel may be the wrong coach... I've not ever really been a fan to be honest, but changing coaches right now isn't going to change anything... They swung for the fences, and left themselves no flexibility to course correct...

The Lakers have become LeBron and Klutch's personal playground and they've done a crappy job... And now it feels like they know it but couldn't care less about the legacy or the fans... I feel like LeBron thinks the Lakers cease to exist if he's not on the team... And it's starting to feel like Jeannie, Rob and co, believe it too...

If I was the FO, Klutch would be finding out about AD being shopped right now, from other teams... LeBron and co would be getting ghosted... EVERYBODY would be available.

About the only pieces we might could build around going forward are THT, Monk, Nunn and Reaves... But no way you're keeping all of them.

This isn't a FO that can make one miracle move and fix everything, it doesn't even feel like they've got the freedom to explore that with Klutch in house.

If we don't find some way to divorce ourselves from Klutch's influence, at least to the point we can make Team-first decisions, I don't think we'll ever be more than a flashy loser...